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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rest — a break
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. rest — what's left
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pop — music
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fall — the season
  10. rest — what's left
  11. press — to push
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cue — a hint
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — a publisher
  16. cue — for pool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — happy
  19. cue — a signal
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. content — the amount
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. content — videos and posts

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