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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. press — to push
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rush — hurry
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. press — newspapers
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. press — a publisher

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