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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. press — a publisher
  3. rest — a break
  4. degree — an amount
  5. last — to go on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. snap — to click
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. prune — to trim
  11. track — to keep track
  12. vault — a safe
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. press — to push
  15. track — a path
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rest — what's left
  19. track — a song
  20. rest — what's left
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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