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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. face — to point toward
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. club — for dancing
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. press — to push
  10. band — a music group
  11. press — newspapers
  12. band — a ring
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cold — not warm
  15. degree — from a university
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. club — for golf
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. club — a group
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cold — an illness

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