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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: object · bore · scale · press · spring · band · degree · swing

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. swing — music
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. spring — the season
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. spring — a coil
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. degree — from a university
  12. press — newspapers
  13. swing — in golf
  14. scale — size or range
  15. object — an aim
  16. degree — temperature
  17. object — a thing
  18. degree — an amount
  19. object — to protest
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. spring — of water
  24. scale — in 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