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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bore — to tire
  3. season — in sport
  4. cold — not warm
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rule — government
  12. season — of the year
  13. press — a publisher
  14. track — a path
  15. degree — temperature
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rush — hurry
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rule — a law
  22. bore — to drill
  23. track — a song
  24. press — to push

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