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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · calf · rule · press · fan · swing · mine · capital

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. swing — music
  14. rule — a law
  15. press — to push
  16. swing — in golf
  17. press — a publisher
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mine — for digging
  20. press — newspapers
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. swing — to play on
  24. capital — a big letter

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