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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: bore · chest · press · craft · degree · fork

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. press — to push
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chest — a box
  5. craft — boats
  6. chest — of your body
  7. degree — temperature
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chest — of your body
  11. press — a publisher
  12. fork — in a road
  13. press — newspapers
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bore — to tire
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. degree — from a university

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