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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cell — in biology
  4. press — to push
  5. ground — crushed
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. pound — a weight
  13. ground — a position
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mark — a trace
  24. ground — the earth

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