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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.

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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: rock · degree · chair · toast · press · bat · calf · roll

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. roll — a cake
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. toast — bread
  6. degree — an amount
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. press — to push
  12. press — newspapers
  13. degree — temperature
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. roll — a list
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bat — the animal

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