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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wake — a trail
  5. tube — the underground
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kick — in football
  9. craft — a skill
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. press — a publisher
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. craft — boats
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. press — newspapers
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. tube — a container
  22. press — to push
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stem — of a plant

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