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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. spring — a coil
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — to push
  6. plane — a tool
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. spring — the season
  10. degree — temperature
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. rush — hurry
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. spring — of water
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. drill — army training
  24. jam — in traffic

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