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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 120 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. track — a path
  3. degree — from a university
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. degree — temperature
  6. dip — to sink
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. press — to push
  12. hand — help
  13. mine — for digging
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. press — newspapers
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. track — a song
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. track — to keep track
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. nail — for a hammer

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