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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: pound · spring · race · sharp · object · press · bass · degree

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. degree — from a university
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. pound — a weight
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. object — a thing
  14. race — a contest
  15. object — an aim
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spring — the season
  18. press — newspapers
  19. race — humankind
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — low music
  22. race — the arms race
  23. spring — of water
  24. object — to protest

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