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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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. degree — from a university
  2. press — newspapers
  3. mark — a grade
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. shower — rain
  7. degree — an amount
  8. field — for sport
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. field — farmland
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. field — a subject
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pitch — completely
  19. mark — a trace
  20. shower — to wash
  21. press — a publisher
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. press — to push
  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