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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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468
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: rest · ground · clip · racket · degree · press · craft · bore

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. ground — a position
  3. craft — boats
  4. clip — for paper
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rest — what's left
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rest — a break
  12. bore — to tire
  13. craft — a skill
  14. ground — the earth
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bore — to drill
  18. press — newspapers
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ground — crushed
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. clip — a video
  23. rest — what's left
  24. press — a publisher

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