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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. press — to push
  3. spring — of water
  4. race — a contest
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. spring — the season
  13. degree — from a university
  14. spring — a coil
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. degree — an amount
  18. prune — to trim
  19. press — a publisher
  20. race — humankind
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pass — a permit
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. press — newspapers

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