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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. degree — from a university
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. press — to push
  7. degree — temperature
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — an amount
  10. foot — a measure
  11. swing — in golf
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. press — a publisher
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. swing — music
  18. mug — a face
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mug — to rob
  23. press — newspapers
  24. sharp — exactly

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