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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: club · degree · racket · deal · firm · dip · march · press

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. press — to push
  5. march — the month
  6. firm — steady
  7. club — a group
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. club — for dancing
  15. dip — to sink
  16. firm — decided
  17. press — a publisher
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. deal — to handle
  20. degree — temperature
  21. club — for golf
  22. press — newspapers
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. firm — a company

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