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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. spring — a coil
  10. press — to push
  11. spring — the season
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pitch — completely
  19. press — newspapers
  20. spring — of water
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wake — a trail
  24. press — a publisher

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