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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: ball · press · net · hide · bear · leaves · shower · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. ball — a dance
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. shower — rain
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. net — for catching
  10. bear — the animal
  11. net — after costs
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. press — to push
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. ball — a great time
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. shower — to wash
  23. net — in sport
  24. press — newspapers

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