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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rash — a series
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. press — newspapers
  10. degree — an amount
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. firm — steady
  13. cell — in biology
  14. clip — a video
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rash — hasty
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. firm — a company
  20. press — a publisher
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. cell — a phone
  23. press — to push
  24. firm — decided

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