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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: degree · staff · spring · bat · chest · court · press · key

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. staff — employees
  3. spring — of water
  4. degree — an amount
  5. key — for a lock
  6. spring — the season
  7. press — to push
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. degree — temperature
  10. court — of a king
  11. staff — a stick
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bat — the animal
  14. key — the most important part
  15. court — of law
  16. chest — of your body
  17. staff — employees
  18. key — in music
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. press — a publisher
  21. degree — from a university
  22. spring — a coil
  23. court — for sport
  24. chest — of your body

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