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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. content — the amount
  3. degree — an amount
  4. press — newspapers
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pass — a permit
  7. bat — the animal
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. press — a publisher
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. press — to push
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. content — happy
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mine — for digging
  20. degree — temperature
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. shower — rain
  24. staff — employees

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