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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. band — a ring
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — temperature
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ground — a position
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. roll — a list
  10. ground — crushed
  11. press — newspapers
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. press — to push
  15. ground — the earth
  16. degree — an amount
  17. roll — a cake
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chest — of your body
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. wind — moving air
  22. band — a music group
  23. degree — from a university
  24. wind — to turn a key

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