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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. content — the amount
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. content — happy
  7. bulb — for light
  8. degree — from a university
  9. race — humankind
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. race — the arms race
  12. degree — an amount
  13. press — to push
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bulb — for light
  16. rule — a law
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — a publisher
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rule — government
  21. degree — temperature
  22. race — a contest
  23. wind — moving air
  24. content — videos and posts

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