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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: shower · track · degree · wind · stick · press

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. press — to push
  3. shower — to wash
  4. track — to keep track
  5. degree — temperature
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. shower — rain
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. press — a publisher
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wind — moving air
  14. press — newspapers
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  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