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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. press — newspapers
  5. fall — the season
  6. cell — a phone
  7. degree — an amount
  8. press — a publisher
  9. track — a path
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cell — in biology
  12. degree — temperature
  13. snap — to click
  14. track — a song
  15. press — to push
  16. degree — from a university
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cell — in a prison

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