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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: bear · degree · snap · press · rule · march

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rule — a law
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bear — the animal
  6. press — newspapers
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. snap — to click
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. march — the month
  13. rule — government
  14. press — to push
  15. march — music
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bear — the animal
  18. march — the month

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