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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stand · ball · press · squash · chest · pit · degree · sharp

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. press — to push
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. squash — to crush
  6. press — newspapers
  7. degree — from a university
  8. press — a publisher
  9. stand — to bear
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ball — a dance
  13. squash — the sport
  14. ball — a great time
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pit — a hole
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. pit — in a race
  21. sharp — clever
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. chest — of your body
  24. degree — temperature

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