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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: court · degree · press · pitcher · pound · swing

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. swing — music
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — a weight
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. press — to push
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. court — of a king
  17. press — a publisher
  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