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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spell — magic
  4. press — newspapers
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. snap — to click
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. press — to push
  11. game — wild animals
  12. spell — letters
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. band — a music group
  15. game — a match
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. spell — a short time
  18. press — a publisher
  19. degree — an amount
  20. content — happy
  21. degree — from a university
  22. band — a ring
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. degree — temperature

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