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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. root — of a plant
  5. degree — from a university
  6. press — newspapers
  7. mug — a face
  8. degree — temperature
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. root — of a word
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mug — to rob
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. season — in sport
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cold — an illness
  19. prune — to trim
  20. root — the cause
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. degree — an amount
  24. press — to push

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