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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bass — the fish
  4. degree — an amount
  5. tear — from crying
  6. press — to push
  7. charge — electricity
  8. stock — goods
  9. cell — a phone
  10. charge — in control
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cell — in biology
  14. lie — to recline
  15. charge — a price
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — a publisher
  19. bass — low music
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. press — newspapers
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cell — in a prison

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