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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ground — crushed
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ground — a position
  6. press — newspapers
  7. court — of law
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. ground — the earth
  10. press — a publisher
  11. court — of a king
  12. deal — to handle
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. cell — in biology
  15. degree — an amount
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. file — a document
  21. degree — temperature
  22. file — a tool
  23. court — for sport
  24. cell — a phone

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