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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. degree — temperature
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. press — newspapers
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. ball — a great time
  11. degree — an amount
  12. press — a publisher
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cold — not warm
  21. can — to be able to
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — an illness

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