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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bear — the animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. drill — army training
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. board — to get on
  9. press — to push
  10. degree — from a university
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. press — newspapers
  14. clip — to cut
  15. degree — an amount
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bear — the animal
  21. ground — the earth
  22. drill — a practice
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — crushed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com