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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. degree — from a university
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. degree — temperature
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — an amount
  12. press — newspapers
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. press — a publisher
  17. file — a document
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mate — a friend
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. toast — bread

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