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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. rest — what's left
  3. degree — an amount
  4. hand — help
  5. rest — a break
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. land — a country
  9. hand — in cards
  10. press — to push
  11. net — after costs
  12. season — of the year
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. land — ground
  16. net — for catching
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. press — a publisher
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. net — in sport
  22. rest — what's left
  23. land — to come down
  24. season — in sport

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