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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. press — to push
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. field — farmland
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. degree — an amount
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. press — a publisher
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — for sport
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — a subject
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — all right
  23. prune — to trim
  24. press — newspapers

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