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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. lean — to bend
  3. land — a country
  4. club — a group
  5. degree — from a university
  6. sharp — clever
  7. net — after costs
  8. degree — temperature
  9. land — ground
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. degree — an amount
  13. net — for catching
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. club — for dancing
  16. lean — thin
  17. land — to come down
  18. wax — to grow
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. press — to push
  21. net — in sport
  22. press — newspapers
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. club — for golf

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