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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: fan · chest · degree · hide · march · vault · mate · press

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. press — newspapers
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mate — a friend
  5. press — to push
  6. chest — a box
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. press — a publisher
  9. vault — a safe
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. march — the month
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. mate — a partner
  20. march — music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mate — to breed

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