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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bank — for money
  5. degree — an amount
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bulb — for light
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bank — of a river
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chest — a box
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bank — for money
  22. rash — a series
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. press — to push

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