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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. degree — from a university
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. game — wild animals
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. press — a publisher
  10. degree — temperature
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. game — a match
  14. date — the fruit
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. scale — in music
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. scale — size or range
  23. degree — an amount
  24. scale — for weighing

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