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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: cell · branch · degree · deal · press · key · wake · last

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. key — the most important part
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. press — a publisher
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — a trail
  17. press — to push
  18. key — for a lock
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. last — final
  24. key — in 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