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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 116 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: stick · band · degree · hide · rule · press

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rule — a law
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. press — to push
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. band — a music group
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. band — a ring
  15. press — newspapers
  16. rule — government
  17. press — a publisher
  18. hide — animal skin

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