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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: swing · fan · bark · hide · degree · snap · fine · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. fine — high quality
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. degree — from a university
  5. press — to push
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. swing — in golf
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. swing — to play on
  16. press — newspapers
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. degree — temperature
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bark — to shout
  22. swing — music
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fine — all right

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