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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. degree — temperature
  5. swing — music
  6. bulb — for light
  7. press — a publisher
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. degree — an amount
  10. swing — to play on
  11. lean — thin
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. degree — from a university
  14. press — to push
  15. bulb — for light
  16. row — a line
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. press — newspapers
  19. row — to paddle
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. deal — to handle
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. swing — in golf

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