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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. degree — an amount
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. press — to push
  6. row — to paddle
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. degree — from a university
  16. press — newspapers
  17. row — a line
  18. bound — certain
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. saw — the tool

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