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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: craft · deal · squash · chair · bank · press · degree · chest

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. degree — from a university
  3. deal — to handle
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. chest — of your body
  7. craft — boats
  8. chest — a box
  9. craft — a skill
  10. chair — a leader
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. press — a publisher
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bank — for money
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. press — to push
  20. bank — for money
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. squash — the sport
  23. press — newspapers
  24. chest — of your body

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