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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: jam · last · ball · degree · club · shower · firm · press

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. press — a publisher
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — decided
  6. degree — temperature
  7. club — for dancing
  8. ball — a dance
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. degree — from a university
  11. club — for golf
  12. shower — rain
  13. press — newspapers
  14. shower — to wash
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. ball — a great time
  18. last — to go on
  19. club — a group
  20. firm — steady
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. press — to push
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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