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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 · bat · degree · fork · staff · cabinet

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. staff — a stick
  3. degree — from a university
  4. press — a publisher
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. press — to push
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. press — newspapers
  14. staff — employees
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — in a road
  17. staff — employees
  18. degree — temperature

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