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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. band — a music group
  3. last — finally
  4. degree — from a university
  5. squash — the sport
  6. mark — a trace
  7. press — a publisher
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. press — newspapers
  10. last — final
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mark — a grade
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. rest — what's left
  20. band — a ring
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. last — to go on
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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