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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. press — to push
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. season — in sport
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. clip — a video
  16. stock — shares
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. season — of the year
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. degree — from a university
  23. face — to point toward
  24. nail — on a finger

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