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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. press — a publisher
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — temperature
  11. press — newspapers
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — moving air
  14. clip — a video
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rest — a break
  20. press — to push
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rest — what's left
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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