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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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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 · club · degree · snap · dip · pit · bear · kid

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. press — to push
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. kid — child
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pit — in a race
  9. kid — to tease
  10. degree — an amount
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. press — newspapers
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. snap — to click
  18. club — a group
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. degree — temperature
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bear — the animal
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bear — the animal

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