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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. degree — temperature
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. press — a publisher
  8. degree — from a university
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. press — newspapers
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. nail — on a finger

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