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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. last — finally
  3. degree — from a university
  4. last — final
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. board — a committee
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. board — to get on
  16. press — to push
  17. tear — to rip
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bat — the animal
  20. last — to go on
  21. press — a publisher
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. board — a flat piece

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