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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. season — in sport
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. root — of a plant
  9. season — of the year
  10. lean — thin
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. root — of a word
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. lean — to bend
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. press — newspapers
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — to push
  21. saw — the tool
  22. degree — temperature
  23. root — the cause
  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