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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — a country
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. present — a gift
  5. field — for sport
  6. present — the time now
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. press — newspapers
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. press — to push
  13. land — to come down
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. press — a publisher
  16. degree — temperature
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. field — a subject
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. present — there
  22. field — farmland
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. land — ground

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