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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. drill — a practice
  3. degree — from a university
  4. present — there
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. degree — an amount
  9. press — to push
  10. degree — temperature
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wind — moving air
  15. press — a publisher
  16. present — a gift
  17. present — the time now
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. press — newspapers
  20. plane — a tool
  21. snap — to click
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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