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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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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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. degree — from a university
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. ball — a dance
  6. spring — of water
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. swing — music
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spring — a coil
  13. press — newspapers
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bark — to shout
  16. degree — an amount
  17. swing — in golf
  18. press — a publisher
  19. vault — a safe
  20. swing — to play on
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — clever

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