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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: court · season · mouse · pitcher · degree · stand · straw · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. degree — temperature
  3. stand — to bear
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. court — of law
  7. season — in sport
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. court — of a king
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. court — for sport
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. press — newspapers
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. press — a publisher

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