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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. press — a publisher
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — an amount
  5. dip — to sink
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bank — of a river
  9. press — to push
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bank — for money
  12. rush — hurry
  13. degree — from a university
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. hand — in cards
  18. press — newspapers
  19. degree — temperature
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bank — for money
  22. hand — help
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rush — a thrill

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