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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 120 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: swing · craft · press · shower · key · degree

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — newspapers
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. shower — to wash
  6. degree — from a university
  7. swing — in golf
  8. craft — boats
  9. craft — a skill
  10. degree — temperature
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. key — in music
  14. degree — an amount
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. shower — rain
  18. press — to push

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