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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: leaves · ground · snap · degree · fall · hide · press · pit

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ground — a position
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pit — a hole
  9. ground — crushed
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. ground — the earth
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. fall — the season
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. press — a publisher
  17. pit — in a race
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. snap — to click
  24. degree — temperature

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