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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · mate · fork · content · march · shower · degree · can

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. can — a tin
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — in a road
  6. press — to push
  7. mate — a partner
  8. can — a tin
  9. press — newspapers
  10. march — music
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. content — happy
  13. press — a publisher
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mate — a friend
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. can — to be able to
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mate — to breed
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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