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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. degree — temperature
  4. charge — in control
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. snap — to click
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rock — a stone
  9. chest — a box
  10. press — newspapers
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rock — music
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. charge — electricity
  16. wind — moving air
  17. charge — a price
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chest — of your body
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. spring — the season

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