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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: trunk · charge · press · bat · swing · sharp · squash · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bat — the animal
  6. press — newspapers
  7. swing — music
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. sharp — clever
  10. charge — electricity
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. squash — to crush
  17. degree — an amount
  18. charge — a price
  19. swing — in golf
  20. press — to push
  21. squash — the sport
  22. charge — in control
  23. press — a publisher
  24. trunk — of a car

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