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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. degree — an amount
  4. race — humankind
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rest — a break
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cell — in biology
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. press — to push
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cell — a phone
  18. race — a contest
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wound — an injury
  22. race — the arms race
  23. degree — from a university
  24. squash — to crush

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