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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spring — of water
  4. press — to push
  5. press — a publisher
  6. spring — a coil
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mug — a cup
  12. spring — the season
  13. lie — to recline
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. press — newspapers
  17. band — a music group
  18. degree — an amount
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. mug — a face
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mug — to rob
  24. pound — to hit hard

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