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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: stick · clip · chair · safe · chest · degree · press · current

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. clip — for paper
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chest — of your body
  5. clip — to cut
  6. press — a publisher
  7. chest — of your body
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chest — a box
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. current — of water
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. current — happening now
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. chair — a leader
  17. current — electric
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. press — to push
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. clip — a video
  24. chair — to sit on

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