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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: toast · rash · degree · hand · sharp · fall · press · fine

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fine — all right
  3. rash — hasty
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — help
  6. toast — bread
  7. press — a publisher
  8. fall — to drop
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. hand — in cards
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. fine — high quality
  16. press — newspapers
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rash — a series
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fall — the season
  22. press — to push
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. toast — the most admired

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