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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
468
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: field · firm · degree · staff · date · wind · press · lean

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. degree — an amount
  3. staff — a stick
  4. degree — from a university
  5. staff — employees
  6. press — a publisher
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. firm — steady
  11. wind — moving air
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. press — newspapers
  15. firm — decided
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. field — a subject
  18. staff — employees
  19. wind — moving air
  20. field — farmland
  21. press — to push
  22. field — for sport
  23. firm — a company
  24. degree — temperature

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