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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chip — for betting
  4. last — final
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bank — of a river
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. press — to push
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. last — to go on
  15. cell — in biology
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. last — finally
  23. press — a publisher
  24. degree — from a university

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