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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. squash — the sport
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. snap — to click
  6. club — for dancing
  7. press — a publisher
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. squash — to crush
  10. present — the time now
  11. club — for golf
  12. clip — to cut
  13. press — to push
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. season — of the year
  17. press — newspapers
  18. season — in sport
  19. club — a group
  20. present — a gift
  21. clip — a video
  22. present — there
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. degree — from a university

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