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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. face — to point toward
  4. drill — a practice
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. degree — from a university
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pop — to visit
  10. face — to confront
  11. drill — army training
  12. fall — to drop
  13. tube — a container
  14. fall — the season
  15. press — a publisher
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. degree — temperature
  18. tube — the underground
  19. pop — soda
  20. degree — an amount
  21. face — part of the head
  22. drill — the tool
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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