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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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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. march — music
  3. charge — a price
  4. rest — what's left
  5. suit — clothes
  6. rest — what's left
  7. suit — in cards
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. charge — in control
  11. march — the month
  12. press — a publisher
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. press — newspapers
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. press — to push
  18. rest — a break
  19. degree — from a university
  20. charge — electricity
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — an illness
  23. suit — to fit
  24. cold — the Cold War

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