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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: press · dip · ruler · game · ground · fork · bowl · degree

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. press — to push
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. ground — the earth
  7. game — wild animals
  8. ground — a position
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. game — a match
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. degree — temperature
  18. dip — to sink
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. press — newspapers
  22. fork — in a road
  23. degree — from a university
  24. press — a publisher

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