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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. spring — the season
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spring — of water
  4. press — to push
  5. degree — temperature
  6. ground — crushed
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. swing — music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ground — a position
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. press — a publisher
  17. swing — in golf
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. swing — to play on
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. dip — to sink
  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