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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. press — to push
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — from a university
  10. tear — from crying
  11. club — a group
  12. press — newspapers
  13. club — for golf
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mate — a partner
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. club — for dancing

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