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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. chest — of your body
  6. press — a publisher
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. mate — a friend
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. mate — to breed
  14. object — an aim
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. object — a thing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. press — to push
  19. press — newspapers
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. object — to protest
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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