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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. press — to push
  5. field — for sport
  6. press — newspapers
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. field — a subject
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cap — a lid
  13. saw — the tool
  14. deal — to handle
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bound — certain
  17. field — farmland
  18. cap — a hat
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cap — of ice

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