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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: rock · degree · chair · toast · press · bat

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. press — a publisher
  3. chair — a leader
  4. degree — from a university
  5. press — to push
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. degree — temperature
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. toast — bread
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. bat — the animal
  18. press — newspapers

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