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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: lie · press · arm · current · degree · sharp · pop · net

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. net — in sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. press — to push
  6. pop — soda
  7. degree — an amount
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. net — after costs
  10. pop — music
  11. current — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. net — for catching
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. lie — to recline
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. press — a publisher
  22. sharp — clever
  23. press — newspapers
  24. current — electric

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