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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: hand · degree · nail · bass · tear · press · board · toast

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. board — to get on
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. bass — the fish
  10. degree — an amount
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. tear — from crying
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bass — low music
  15. toast — bread
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. degree — from a university
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — temperature
  22. press — newspapers
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. tear — to rip

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