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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: degree · calf · foot · ground · press · pit · content · land

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. press — to push
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. land — to come down
  6. pit — in a race
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ground — a position
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. content — the amount
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. press — a publisher
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. ground — crushed
  19. content — happy
  20. pit — a hole
  21. foot — a measure
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. press — newspapers

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