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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. degree — temperature
  3. press — a publisher
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. row — a line
  6. degree — an amount
  7. press — newspapers
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rock — music
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. key — in music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. kick — in football
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fork — in a road
  17. key — for a lock
  18. press — to push
  19. key — the most important part
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rock — a stone
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fork — to eat with

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