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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. press — to push
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. degree — from a university
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. degree — temperature
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bear — the animal
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bear — the animal
  22. press — a publisher
  23. rest — what's left
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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