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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 120 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: press · deal · degree · file · sharp · track · rush · mine

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. press — a publisher
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. degree — temperature
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. press — to push
  8. press — newspapers
  9. track — to keep track
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. degree — an amount
  15. deal — to handle
  16. track — a path
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rush — hurry
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. track — a song
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. deal — a big deal

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