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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mug — a face
  3. press — to push
  4. spring — a coil
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bulb — for light
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pop — music
  11. press — a publisher
  12. spring — of water
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pop — soda
  17. wake — a trail
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mug — to rob
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mug — a cup
  23. press — newspapers
  24. degree — an amount

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