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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 120 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: press · squash · degree · pass · ground · last · ball · lie

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. press — a publisher
  3. ball — a dance
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ground — the earth
  6. press — to push
  7. degree — temperature
  8. last — final
  9. squash — to crush
  10. degree — from a university
  11. ground — crushed
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lie — to recline
  18. press — newspapers
  19. squash — the sport
  20. ground — a position
  21. pass — a permit
  22. last — finally
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. ball — a great time

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