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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bank — for money
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. press — to push
  18. squash — to crush
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. squash — the sport
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. game — wild animals
  24. degree — temperature

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