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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. last — final
  3. degree — temperature
  4. last — finally
  5. degree — from a university
  6. lean — to bend
  7. charge — a price
  8. clip — a video
  9. charge — in control
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. face — part of the head
  12. clip — for paper
  13. face — to confront
  14. press — newspapers
  15. last — to go on
  16. clip — to cut
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — to push
  19. bulb — for light
  20. face — to point toward
  21. degree — an amount
  22. charge — electricity
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bulb — for light

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