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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: kick · degree · field · bear · deal · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bear — the animal
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. degree — from a university
  5. press — newspapers
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — to handle
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. press — a publisher
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. degree — temperature
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. field — farmland

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