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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. 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. degree — from a university
  2. club — a group
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. club — for dancing
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stem — to come from
  11. kick — in football
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. club — for golf
  17. press — newspapers
  18. 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