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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. spring — the season
  3. mate — a friend
  4. spring — a coil
  5. press — newspapers
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. press — a publisher
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. press — to push
  15. cold — not warm
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spring — of water
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. object — a thing
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. object — an aim
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. object — to protest

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