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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. degree — an amount
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. land — a country
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — steady
  7. pop — music
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. degree — from a university
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. press — a publisher
  13. mark — a trace
  14. degree — temperature
  15. firm — decided
  16. land — to come down
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. pop — to visit
  19. land — ground
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mark — a grade
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pop — soda

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