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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 120 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: dip · bound · foot · fork · kid · degree · press · clip

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. clip — a video
  3. bound — tied together
  4. kid — child
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. degree — temperature
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. degree — an amount
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bound — obliged
  13. press — newspapers
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. dip — to sink
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bound — certain
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. clip — for paper
  23. press — a publisher
  24. foot — the bottom

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