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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. press — newspapers
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fine — high quality
  6. kick — in football
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — a video
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. degree — an amount
  21. clip — to cut
  22. file — a tool
  23. fine — all right
  24. pitcher — a jug

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