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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 shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. press — to push
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. current — electric
  7. deal — to handle
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. current — happening now
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. degree — temperature
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. wake — a trail
  22. march — the month
  23. current — of water
  24. degree — an amount

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