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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. press — to push
  3. cold — an illness
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. press — newspapers
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cold — not warm
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. degree — temperature
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. press — a publisher
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. degree — from a university
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. pound — a weight
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. jam — in traffic

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