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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. mine — for digging
  6. spring — the season
  7. face — part of the head
  8. press — a publisher
  9. spring — a coil
  10. press — to push
  11. court — of law
  12. face — to point toward
  13. press — newspapers
  14. face — to confront
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. spring — of water
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. court — of a king
  21. degree — an amount
  22. court — for sport
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. degree — temperature

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