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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. degree — from a university
  3. race — a contest
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. race — the arms race
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. vault — a safe
  10. press — newspapers
  11. race — humankind
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. branch — a division
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. press — a publisher

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