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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. band — a ring
  3. shower — to wash
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — a signal
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cue — for pool
  13. swing — in golf
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. mate — a partner
  17. band — a music group
  18. press — newspapers
  19. degree — an amount
  20. press — a publisher
  21. shower — rain
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. press — to push
  24. degree — from a university

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