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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 · kid · degree · coach · foot · track · ground · roll

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — newspapers
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ground — crushed
  9. degree — an amount
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ground — a position
  12. kid — child
  13. degree — from a university
  14. kid — to tease
  15. roll — a cake
  16. press — to push
  17. foot — a measure
  18. roll — a list
  19. degree — temperature
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. track — a song

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