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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.

Words on the sheet
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: press · stick · bound · degree · cell · clip · rash · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cell — a phone
  6. press — newspapers
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bound — tied together
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bound — obliged
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. press — to push
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bound — certain
  21. press — a publisher
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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