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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 116 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mate — to breed
  4. press — a publisher
  5. degree — an amount
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mate — a friend
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cold — an illness
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bank — for money
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bank — for money
  19. degree — from a university
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bank — of a river
  22. present — a gift
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. present — the time now

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