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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: press · chair · degree · bowl · pass · snap

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. snap — to click
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pass — a permit
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. degree — an amount
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. chair — a leader
  15. press — to push
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bowl — to roll

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