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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: ground · lash · swing · fall · bat · content · degree · press

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. swing — in golf
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. press — a publisher
  6. content — the amount
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fall — the season
  9. content — happy
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. fall — to drop
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. ground — a position
  20. press — newspapers
  21. swing — to play on
  22. degree — from a university
  23. press — to push
  24. swing — music

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