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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: press · cap · staff · degree · bat · leaves · bound · land

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bat — the animal
  4. land — to come down
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. press — to push
  7. degree — from a university
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — certain
  11. land — ground
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bound — tied together
  14. land — a country
  15. staff — employees
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cap — a lid
  18. press — newspapers
  19. degree — temperature
  20. staff — employees
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. cap — of ice

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