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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · degree · press · bay · rule · mouse

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. press — a publisher
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. kid — child
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. rule — government
  12. press — newspapers
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rule — a law
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. press — to push
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. kid — to tease

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