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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — temperature
  4. press — newspapers
  5. mate — a partner
  6. last — final
  7. mate — a friend
  8. press — a publisher
  9. mine — for digging
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bulb — for light
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wind — moving air
  17. degree — from a university
  18. last — to go on
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. press — to push
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. last — finally
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bulb — of a plant

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