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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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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 · degree · jam · fork · rule · rest · date · stick

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rule — government
  5. rest — what's left
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. rest — a break
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. press — a publisher
  12. date — the fruit
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rule — a law
  17. degree — temperature
  18. press — to push
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. fork — in a road
  22. press — newspapers
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fork — to eat with

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