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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: saw · cue · bat · degree · pitcher · press · drill · rest

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. drill — army training
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cue — for pool
  12. press — newspapers
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. drill — a practice
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. saw — the tool
  20. drill — the tool
  21. press — a publisher
  22. degree — from a university
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rest — a break

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