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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. squash — the sport
  4. current — electric
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. press — to push
  7. degree — from a university
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rash — a series
  10. wound — an injury
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. press — a publisher
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. rash — hasty
  16. press — newspapers
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kick — in football
  21. squash — to crush
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. coach — a trainer

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