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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bat — the animal
  6. ground — the earth
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. ground — a position
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. swing — to play on
  17. press — to push
  18. pound — a weight
  19. ground — crushed
  20. press — newspapers
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. degree — temperature
  23. swing — in golf
  24. pound — to hit hard

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