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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.

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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: wake · kid · press · last · pitcher · bank · march · degree

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kid — child
  3. degree — from a university
  4. march — music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. march — the month
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. last — final
  10. press — a publisher
  11. last — to go on
  12. kid — to tease
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bank — for money
  15. march — the month
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bank — of a river
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bank — for money
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wake — a trail
  24. press — to push

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