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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cold — not warm
  11. board — a committee
  12. prune — to trim
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. degree — temperature
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bulb — for light
  22. degree — from a university
  23. press — to push
  24. degree — an amount

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