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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: clip · shower · degree · bay · file · board · press · bear

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. press — to push
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. shower — to wash
  11. degree — an amount
  12. board — a committee
  13. file — a document
  14. clip — a video
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. file — a tool
  17. board — to get on
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. file — a line of people
  24. press — newspapers

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