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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. march — the month
  3. season — of the year
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. degree — an amount
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. season — in sport
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fall — the season
  15. capital — a city
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. degree — temperature
  20. press — a publisher
  21. fall — to drop
  22. degree — from a university
  23. press — newspapers
  24. ruler — for measuring

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