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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 116 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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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 · last · fork · dip · craft · chip · kick · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  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 — temperature
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chip — to eat
  7. press — to push
  8. kick — in football
  9. degree — an amount
  10. dip — to sink
  11. craft — boats
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. chip — for betting
  15. last — final
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. craft — a skill
  22. fork — in a road
  23. craft — a handicraft
  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