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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.

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: degree · rule · pitcher · press · net · spell · object · cold

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. degree — temperature
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — an aim
  5. spell — a short time
  6. net — for catching
  7. press — newspapers
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. degree — an amount
  10. net — after costs
  11. cold — an illness
  12. press — to push
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — a law
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. object — to protest
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. press — a publisher
  20. degree — from a university
  21. net — in sport
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spell — magic
  24. rule — government

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