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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 · vault · pop · fork · degree · bear

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. press — newspapers
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. press — to push
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. vault — a safe
  17. pop — music
  18. bear — the animal

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