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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: degree · staff · cold · ball · press · bowl

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. press — a publisher
  14. staff — employees
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — to push
  17. ball — a great time
  18. staff — a stick

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