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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. press — a publisher
  3. march — the month
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. clip — a video
  7. press — newspapers
  8. staff — employees
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — a subject
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. degree — from a university
  13. staff — a stick
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — music
  17. field — for sport
  18. degree — temperature
  19. field — farmland
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. clip — to cut
  23. staff — employees
  24. press — to push

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