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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: net · season · press · degree · saw · coach

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. saw — the tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. press — to push
  5. season — in sport
  6. press — a publisher
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. saw — the tool
  9. net — in sport
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. degree — from a university
  12. press — newspapers
  13. net — after costs
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — for catching
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. season — of the year
  18. degree — temperature

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