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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: drill · firm · mine · club · press · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mine — for digging
  3. press — to push
  4. drill — army training
  5. firm — decided
  6. drill — a practice
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. club — for golf
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. firm — steady
  13. club — for dancing
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. drill — the tool
  17. club — a group
  18. firm — a company

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