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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. degree — an amount
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — decided
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. dip — to sink
  18. branch — a division
  19. rest — what's left
  20. degree — temperature
  21. club — a group
  22. firm — steady
  23. club — for golf
  24. branch — of a tree

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