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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: press · rash · degree · racket · bound · chest · object · ball

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. object — to protest
  3. ball — a great time
  4. chest — of your body
  5. press — to push
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — certain
  8. ball — a dance
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bound — tied together
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — a thing
  17. rash — hasty
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rash — a series
  20. chest — a box
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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