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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. degree — from a university
  6. press — to push
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. kid — child
  12. press — a publisher
  13. bat — the animal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. degree — an amount
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pit — in a race
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. pit — a hole
  24. kid — to tease

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