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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. present — the time now
  5. degree — from a university
  6. race — the arms race
  7. present — there
  8. race — a contest
  9. pass — a permit
  10. content — the amount
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. press — newspapers
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. net — in sport
  19. race — humankind
  20. press — a publisher
  21. clip — to cut
  22. degree — an amount
  23. present — a gift
  24. content — happy

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