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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. press — to push
  4. rest — a break
  5. hand — help
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bank — of a river
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. press — newspapers
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. charge — in control
  16. stem — to come from
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — electricity
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — for money
  23. hand — in cards
  24. degree — an amount

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