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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rock — a stone
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. degree — from a university
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. degree — temperature
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rock — music
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. cold — an illness
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. prune — to trim
  23. field — farmland
  24. leaves — to go away

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