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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: ruler · press · deal · rock · degree · last

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. degree — an amount
  3. press — to push
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. rock — music
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. press — newspapers
  9. degree — temperature
  10. last — finally
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. rock — a stone
  14. deal — to handle
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. degree — from a university

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