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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. spring — of water
  3. wax — to grow
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. press — newspapers
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. degree — from a university
  11. kick — in football
  12. mate — a friend
  13. degree — temperature
  14. press — to push
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mate — to breed
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mate — a partner
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. dip — to dunk

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