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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: cell · leaves · degree · snap · march · press · capital · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. march — music
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. capital — money
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — to push
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. degree — temperature
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mate — a partner
  12. press — a publisher
  13. snap — to click
  14. mate — to breed
  15. degree — an amount
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. capital — a city
  19. march — the month
  20. degree — from a university
  21. march — the month
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cell — in biology
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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