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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: press · degree · fine · hide · lash · swing · bound · pound

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. swing — to play on
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. press — to push
  6. swing — music
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. press — a publisher
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — temperature
  14. swing — in golf
  15. press — newspapers
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. fine — all right
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bound — tied together
  23. fine — high quality
  24. pound — to hit hard

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