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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cold — an illness
  3. band — a music group
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rash — hasty
  6. mark — a grade
  7. band — a ring
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. degree — temperature
  10. rash — a series
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — to bear
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cold — not warm
  16. degree — an amount
  17. press — a publisher
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. mark — a trace
  20. press — newspapers
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. press — to push
  24. stand — on your feet

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