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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 116 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 · kid · rush · pit · content · lean · rule · degree

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pit — in a race
  4. kid — child
  5. rule — government
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — thin
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pit — a hole
  19. degree — temperature
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lean — to bend

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