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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bear · dip · season · degree · press · foot · bowl · mine

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — of the year
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. foot — a measure
  9. degree — from a university
  10. press — a publisher
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bear — the animal
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. mine — for digging
  17. season — in sport
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. press — to push
  24. dip — to sink

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