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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: club · jam · kid · press · rule · degree

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. club — a group
  3. kid — to tease
  4. press — a publisher
  5. degree — an amount
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. degree — temperature
  9. club — for golf
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. press — to push
  14. press — newspapers
  15. club — for dancing
  16. degree — from a university
  17. kid — child
  18. rule — a law

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