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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · bank · file · pound · clip · calf · press · snap

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bank — for money
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bank — of a river
  7. clip — to cut
  8. press — newspapers
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. snap — to click
  11. clip — a video
  12. file — a tool
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. clip — for paper
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. file — a document
  17. degree — from a university
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bank — for money
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. pound — to hit hard

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