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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 116 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. degree — temperature
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bass — low music
  6. press — to push
  7. swing — music
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. capital — money
  10. bass — the fish
  11. degree — an amount
  12. swing — to play on
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. row — to paddle
  19. swing — in golf
  20. content — the amount
  21. capital — a city
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. content — happy
  24. nail — on a finger

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