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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. press — a publisher
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. press — newspapers
  7. degree — an amount
  8. net — in sport
  9. spell — a short time
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. press — to push
  13. spell — letters
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. degree — temperature
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. spell — magic

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