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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.

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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cap — a lid
  7. spring — a coil
  8. degree — an amount
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. spring — of water
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — the season
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. pound — a weight
  24. calf — of the leg

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