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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. press — to push
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. degree — from a university
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. club — a group
  15. game — wild animals
  16. press — a publisher
  17. degree — an amount
  18. press — newspapers
  19. game — a match
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. branch — a division
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. branch — of a tree

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