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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. press — newspapers
  3. press — to push
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — certain
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. race — a contest
  9. bound — obliged
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. race — humankind
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. degree — temperature
  17. race — the arms race
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. cold — not warm
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. press — a publisher

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