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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bass · press · rule · date · cap · scale · degree · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cap — a lid
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. press — newspapers
  7. content — the amount
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. press — a publisher
  10. scale — size or range
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. degree — an amount
  13. scale — in music
  14. bass — low music
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. degree — temperature
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cap — a hat
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bass — the fish
  22. date — the fruit
  23. cap — of ice
  24. press — to push

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