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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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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: press · degree · kick · straw · march · fine

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fine — all right
  3. press — newspapers
  4. march — the month
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. degree — an amount
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. press — to push
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. fine — high quality
  16. march — the month
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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