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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. press — a publisher
  2. game — a match
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. perch — the fish
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. degree — an amount
  10. press — to push
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pitch — completely
  13. present — a gift
  14. stem — to come from
  15. present — there
  16. degree — temperature
  17. game — wild animals
  18. present — the time now
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. press — newspapers
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stem — of a plant
  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