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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. press — a publisher
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pitch — completely
  7. toast — bread
  8. current — of water
  9. stock — goods
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. current — happening now
  12. press — newspapers
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. stock — shares
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. current — electric
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wind — moving air
  24. press — to push

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