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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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. ground — crushed
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. ground — the earth
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. degree — from a university
  11. season — in sport
  12. cell — in biology
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. ground — a position
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. straw — a straw man

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