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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pop — music
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pop — to visit
  6. cold — an illness
  7. dip — to sink
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. press — to push
  15. pop — soda
  16. degree — temperature
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. sharp — clever
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — to go away

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