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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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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. degree — temperature
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. degree — an amount
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cap — a hat
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. date — the fruit
  15. degree — from a university
  16. press — newspapers
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cap — of ice

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