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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. press — a publisher
  4. lean — thin
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. game — wild animals
  11. press — newspapers
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. lean — to bend
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. degree — temperature
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. press — to push
  22. degree — from a university
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. foot — a measure

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