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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: file · degree · fork · coach · cap · press

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. press — a publisher
  10. degree — an amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. press — newspapers
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. press — to push
  16. degree — from a university
  17. file — a document
  18. cap — a lid

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