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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. degree — an amount
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. press — a publisher
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bank — for money
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. degree — from a university
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bass — low music
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bank — of a river
  18. lean — to bend
  19. prune — to trim
  20. lean — thin
  21. press — to push
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. date — the fruit

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