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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. mate — a friend
  3. rest — what's left
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. swing — to play on
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. press — to push
  10. rest — what's left
  11. swing — music
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. track — a path
  16. swing — in golf
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. degree — from a university
  19. press — newspapers
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. rest — a break
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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