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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 124 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 · jam · bank · mark · sharp · perch · pound · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. perch — the fish
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bank — for money
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bank — for money
  13. press — to push
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bank — of a river
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. mark — a trace
  20. degree — temperature
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. pound — a weight

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