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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. degree — from a university
  3. firm — decided
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. press — to push
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. press — a publisher
  8. tear — to rip
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fine — high quality
  14. degree — an amount
  15. firm — steady
  16. tear — from crying
  17. drill — army training
  18. firm — a company
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. press — newspapers
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wave — of the sea

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