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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: bark · game · fan · field · pop · tube · press · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. pop — to visit
  7. press — a publisher
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. press — to push
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. degree — an amount
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. field — for sport
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bark — to shout
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pop — soda
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. tube — a container
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pop — music

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