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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.

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 · bat · rule · degree · tube · mug · straw · row

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rule — a law
  3. bat — the animal
  4. tube — a container
  5. mug — to rob
  6. press — a publisher
  7. mug — a face
  8. degree — from a university
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mug — a cup
  15. tube — the underground
  16. press — newspapers
  17. row — a line
  18. rule — government
  19. press — to push
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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