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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
468
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: degree · mine · leaves · rule · press · pitch

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. press — to push
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pitch — completely
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rule — a law
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rule — government

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