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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. file — a line of people
  3. kid — child
  4. spell — letters
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bulb — for light
  9. file — a tool
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. file — a document
  12. press — to push
  13. rash — hasty
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. degree — temperature
  17. press — newspapers
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. degree — from a university
  20. kid — to tease
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bulb — for light
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rash — a series

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