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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. press — a publisher
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stand — to bear
  8. press — newspapers
  9. wound — an injury
  10. degree — an amount
  11. club — a group
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. press — to push
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cold — an illness
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cold — not warm
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. club — for golf

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