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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. lean — thin
  3. present — the time now
  4. press — to push
  5. ball — a dance
  6. march — music
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. press — newspapers
  10. march — the month
  11. present — a gift
  12. ball — a great time
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lean — to bend
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. degree — an amount
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. press — a publisher
  21. present — there
  22. march — the month
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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