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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. press — to push
  5. present — the time now
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mark — a grade
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. present — a gift
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. press — newspapers
  20. present — there
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. fall — the season
  23. press — a publisher
  24. mark — a trace

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