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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 120 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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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: pitcher · mine · chair · bark · degree · press · ruler · fall

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. mine — for digging
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fall — the season
  7. degree — an amount
  8. press — newspapers
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bark — to shout
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. press — to push

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