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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: mug · press · bark · lie · ground · spring · lean · degree

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ground — the earth
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ground — crushed
  6. lean — thin
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. press — to push
  9. mug — to rob
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. press — newspapers
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. spring — the season
  16. ground — a position
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. spring — of water
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bark — to shout
  24. spring — a coil

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