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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. land — a country
  4. staff — a stick
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. press — a publisher
  9. game — a match
  10. degree — temperature
  11. can — a tin
  12. staff — employees
  13. press — to push
  14. land — ground
  15. game — wild animals
  16. can — to be able to
  17. staff — employees
  18. degree — from a university
  19. land — to come down
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — government
  22. can — a tin
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. press — newspapers

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