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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. press — newspapers
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — to push
  8. mine — for digging
  9. field — farmland
  10. last — final
  11. degree — temperature
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. board — a committee
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. press — a publisher
  20. board — to get on
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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