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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: degree · bank · nail · shower · foot · press · key · row

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bank — for money
  5. shower — to wash
  6. press — to push
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. press — a publisher
  9. bank — of a river
  10. key — for a lock
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bank — for money
  13. key — the most important part
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. row — a line
  17. shower — rain
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. key — in music
  21. degree — temperature
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. row — to paddle

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