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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. press — to push
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. land — to come down
  6. bass — low music
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. press — a publisher
  10. degree — from a university
  11. land — ground
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. degree — temperature
  14. press — newspapers
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pit — in a race
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. land — a country

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