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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 116 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. suit — in cards
  3. bat — the animal
  4. current — electric
  5. degree — from a university
  6. game — a match
  7. press — to push
  8. club — for dancing
  9. current — happening now
  10. degree — an amount
  11. club — a group
  12. current — of water
  13. suit — clothes
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. suit — to fit
  17. rash — a series
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. degree — temperature
  20. club — for golf
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. press — newspapers
  24. game — wild animals

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