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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mate — a partner
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. press — to push
  5. press — newspapers
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. roll — a cake
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pass — a permit
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. degree — temperature
  18. row — a line
  19. press — a publisher
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. roll — a list
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. row — to paddle
  24. kid — child

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