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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: ground · bat · hide · ball · branch · degree · press · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pop — music
  4. ball — a great time
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ground — the earth
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. press — to push
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bat — the animal
  16. press — a publisher
  17. pop — soda
  18. press — newspapers
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. ground — a position

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