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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: degree · board · staff · roll · press · march · hide · rash

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. rash — a series
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. press — to push
  7. board — to get on
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. staff — a stick
  13. roll — a cake
  14. press — newspapers
  15. degree — an amount
  16. board — a committee
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. staff — employees
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. roll — a list
  23. press — a publisher
  24. march — music

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