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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. fall — to drop
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bat — the animal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. squash — to crush
  7. fall — to drop
  8. key — the most important part
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. degree — temperature
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. key — in music
  15. rash — hasty
  16. squash — the sport
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. press — newspapers
  19. rash — a series
  20. degree — from a university
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fall — the season
  24. squash — the vegetable

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