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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. suit — in cards
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. suit — to fit
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. march — the month
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. band — a ring
  21. suit — clothes
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. press — newspapers
  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