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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. degree — from a university
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. charge — in control
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rule — government
  9. charge — electricity
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. degree — temperature
  12. clip — for paper
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. object — a thing
  17. press — a publisher
  18. charge — a price
  19. object — an aim
  20. clip — a video
  21. rule — a law
  22. vault — a safe
  23. object — to protest
  24. degree — an amount

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