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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.

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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fall — the season
  4. degree — temperature
  5. row — to paddle
  6. press — newspapers
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. content — the amount
  15. press — to push
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. row — a line
  18. content — happy
  19. bat — the animal
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fork — in a road
  23. degree — an amount
  24. press — a publisher

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