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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. prune — to trim
  5. press — newspapers
  6. kid — child
  7. stand — to bear
  8. press — a publisher
  9. drill — army training
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kid — to tease
  12. degree — temperature
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. press — to push
  15. drill — the tool
  16. content — the amount
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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