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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: saw · press · suit · march · mark · swing · degree · drill

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. press — to push
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mark — a grade
  5. press — a publisher
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mark — a trace
  8. drill — army training
  9. suit — clothes
  10. saw — the tool
  11. swing — to play on
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — from a university
  14. drill — a practice
  15. saw — the tool
  16. suit — in cards
  17. march — music
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. suit — to fit
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. press — newspapers
  23. swing — in golf
  24. march — the month

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