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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 120 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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468
Word bank
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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. object — a thing
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cell — a phone
  6. race — the arms race
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. race — a contest
  11. degree — an amount
  12. race — humankind
  13. object — an aim
  14. press — newspapers
  15. kick — in football
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. object — to protest
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a cup
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pitch — completely
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. cell — in biology

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