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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 · ruler · press · lean · pound · arm · rock · date

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. lean — to bend
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. press — a publisher
  10. degree — temperature
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. press — to push
  13. lean — thin
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. rock — a stone
  18. pound — a weight
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. rock — 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