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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 120 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: pass · sharp · march · lean · degree · press · tear · kid

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. lean — to bend
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lean — thin
  5. degree — temperature
  6. march — the month
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. march — music
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. march — the month
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. press — newspapers
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. sharp — clever
  21. press — a publisher
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. kid — to tease
  24. sharp — with an edge

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