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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: press · clip · degree · key · bulb · chip · tear · ruler

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tear — from crying
  3. key — in music
  4. clip — to cut
  5. key — the most important part
  6. chip — for betting
  7. key — for a lock
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. degree — from a university
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bulb — for light
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chip — to eat
  17. tear — to rip
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. press — newspapers
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. press — to push
  24. bulb — for light

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