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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 124 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. scale — in music
  8. last — to go on
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. rule — government
  13. degree — an amount
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. last — finally
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wake — a trail
  19. last — final
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. degree — temperature
  22. press — a publisher
  23. rule — a law
  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