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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. can — a tin
  4. press — to push
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. can — a tin
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stand — to bear
  9. fine — all right
  10. foot — a measure
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wind — moving air
  16. press — a publisher
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. press — newspapers
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fine — high quality
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. can — to be able to

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