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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. press — a publisher
  6. tear — to rip
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. press — to push
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. court — of law
  15. tear — from crying
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wound — an injury
  18. degree — an amount
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. degree — temperature
  24. court — for sport

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