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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. degree — from a university
  3. club — for dancing
  4. race — humankind
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. club — a group
  7. race — a contest
  8. bat — the animal
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. press — to push
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. club — for golf
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. race — the arms race
  15. degree — an amount
  16. press — newspapers
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bat — for baseball

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