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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 116 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. press — to push
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fall — to drop
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. last — final
  9. game — a match
  10. fall — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. suit — in cards
  13. spring — of water
  14. game — wild animals
  15. spring — a coil
  16. degree — from a university
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. press — newspapers
  19. suit — to fit
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. press — a publisher
  23. suit — clothes
  24. fall — to drop

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