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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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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 · file · wind · degree · pit · hide · tube · bass

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. file — a document
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. tube — a container
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. press — to push
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pit — a hole
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bass — low music
  15. tube — the underground
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. press — newspapers
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bass — the fish
  21. press — a publisher
  22. file — a tool
  23. pit — in a race
  24. wind — moving air

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