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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: swing · date · press · rest · coach · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. press — a publisher
  3. rest — a break
  4. degree — temperature
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. swing — music
  9. degree — an amount
  10. press — to push
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rest — what's left
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. press — newspapers
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rest — what's left

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