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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 · degree · kick · straw · march · fine · mug · bank

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. march — the month
  3. bank — for money
  4. march — music
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. press — newspapers
  7. fine — high quality
  8. press — a publisher
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mug — a cup
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mug — to rob
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. degree — temperature
  18. kick — in football
  19. press — to push
  20. fine — all right
  21. bank — for money
  22. mug — a face
  23. bank — of a river
  24. march — the month

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