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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: fork · mark · rash · pop · degree · season · press · foot

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. rash — a series
  6. pop — to visit
  7. press — a publisher
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. press — newspapers
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. season — of the year
  12. rash — hasty
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. press — to push
  16. degree — temperature
  17. foot — a measure
  18. season — in sport
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. fork — in a road

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