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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. chest — a box
  4. degree — temperature
  5. march — the month
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. press — a publisher
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. press — newspapers
  12. march — the month
  13. press — to push
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chest — of your body
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. degree — from a university
  22. march — music
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. chest — of your body

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