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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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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: band · degree · chair · press · face · snap · clip · root

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. root — the cause
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. clip — to cut
  7. press — newspapers
  8. root — of a word
  9. degree — temperature
  10. face — to confront
  11. clip — a video
  12. face — to point toward
  13. degree — from a university
  14. snap — to click
  15. press — a publisher
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. band — a ring
  20. face — part of the head
  21. root — of a plant
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. degree — an amount
  24. band — a music group

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