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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. kid — to tease
  8. press — a publisher
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. court — of a king
  11. degree — from a university
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. mug — to rob
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mug — a face
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. press — to push
  21. court — for sport
  22. press — newspapers
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mug — a cup

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