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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. fall — to drop
  3. track — a path
  4. degree — from a university
  5. track — a song
  6. bank — for money
  7. sharp — clever
  8. press — a publisher
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. press — to push
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. spring — of water
  15. track — to keep track
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bank — for money
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. degree — temperature
  21. press — newspapers
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. bank — of a river

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