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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. can — to be able to
  3. chair — a leader
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — temperature
  6. prune — to trim
  7. root — the cause
  8. can — a tin
  9. degree — from a university
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. current — electric
  12. root — of a word
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. current — happening now
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. current — of water
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. can — a tin
  20. press — a publisher
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. root — of a plant
  23. degree — an amount
  24. press — newspapers

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