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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — an amount
  6. key — for a lock
  7. degree — from a university
  8. press — a publisher
  9. key — in music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. degree — temperature
  12. game — a match
  13. rash — hasty
  14. season — in sport
  15. rash — a series
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. key — the most important part
  21. stand — to bear
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. press — newspapers
  24. stand — for spectators

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