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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · club · degree · mine · staff · can · cabinet · ground

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — from a university
  3. staff — employees
  4. club — a group
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. can — to be able to
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. ground — the earth
  12. press — newspapers
  13. mine — for digging
  14. degree — an amount
  15. can — a tin
  16. press — to push
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. ground — a position
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — for dancing
  22. degree — temperature
  23. can — a tin
  24. mine — an explosive

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