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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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Word bank
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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: wind · racket · safe · clip · saw · degree · march · press

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — a video
  7. press — a publisher
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wind — moving air
  12. degree — temperature
  13. press — newspapers
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. saw — the tool
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. press — to push
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. degree — an amount
  24. march — the month

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