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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fall — the season
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ball — a great time
  5. spell — a short time
  6. press — to push
  7. cue — a hint
  8. ball — a dance
  9. spell — magic
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. net — after costs
  12. fall — to drop
  13. press — newspapers
  14. net — for catching
  15. spell — letters
  16. fall — to drop
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cue — for pool
  19. chip — for betting
  20. net — in sport
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. chip — to eat
  23. cue — a signal
  24. degree — temperature

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