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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. shower — to wash
  5. can — to be able to
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. degree — an amount
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. clip — a video
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. degree — temperature
  14. can — a tin
  15. press — newspapers
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. foot — a measure
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. sharp — clever
  24. shower — rain

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