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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: saw · fall · press · bound · last · clip · bulb · degree

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. press — to push
  4. fall — the season
  5. bulb — for light
  6. press — newspapers
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. last — final
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. degree — an amount
  14. last — finally
  15. press — a publisher
  16. last — to go on
  17. saw — the tool
  18. clip — for paper
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bulb — for light
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bound — certain

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