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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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468
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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cue — for pool
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. perch — the fish
  9. tear — to rip
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cue — a hint
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — from a university
  17. lean — thin
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. cue — a signal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cell — in biology
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chair — to sit on

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