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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hand — in cards
  3. press — a publisher
  4. prune — to trim
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. prune — to trim
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stand — to bear
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. hand — help
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. press — newspapers
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. press — to push
  23. object — a thing
  24. degree — from a university

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