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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 · degree · file · bound · net · stick · ruler · mouse

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. net — for catching
  4. degree — temperature
  5. file — a line of people
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. press — to push
  11. bound — obliged
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bound — tied together
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. net — in sport
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bound — certain
  22. net — after costs
  23. press — a publisher
  24. mouse — the animal

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