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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. clip — a video
  3. press — a publisher
  4. season — of the year
  5. degree — temperature
  6. band — a music group
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. season — in sport
  10. deal — to handle
  11. degree — from a university
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wax — to grow
  15. press — to push
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. press — newspapers
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. degree — an amount
  22. band — a ring
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. safe — out of danger

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