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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fall — the season
  4. chip — to eat
  5. spell — letters
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mate — to breed
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. fall — to drop
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fall — to drop
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mate — a partner
  16. spell — magic
  17. press — a publisher
  18. spell — a short time
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wind — moving air
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. press — to push
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wind — moving air

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