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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. degree — temperature
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — newspapers
  5. spell — letters
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. degree — an amount
  8. press — to push
  9. spell — a short time
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to click
  12. bass — the fish
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bass — low music
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. spell — magic

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