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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rash — a series
  4. can — to be able to
  5. spring — the season
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. can — a tin
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spring — of water
  13. can — a tin
  14. degree — temperature
  15. press — to push
  16. season — of the year
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bass — the fish
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bass — low music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wind — to turn a key

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