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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: wind · degree · rash · press · tear · fork · mug · ball

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. ball — a dance
  4. rash — hasty
  5. press — to push
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. wind — moving air
  9. press — newspapers
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. mug — to rob
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. rash — a series
  15. ball — a great time
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — an amount
  21. tear — to rip
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fork — to eat with

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