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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mug — to rob
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. foot — a measure
  8. capital — money
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. mug — a cup
  11. press — to push
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. degree — an amount
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. capital — a city
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rash — a series
  20. press — newspapers
  21. mug — a face
  22. press — a publisher
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rash — hasty

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