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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. press — a publisher
  7. net — in sport
  8. pop — to visit
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pop — soda
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. hand — in cards
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — to push
  17. net — for catching
  18. pop — music
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pitch — completely
  21. net — after costs
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. bound — certain

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