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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bass — low music
  3. hand — in cards
  4. press — a publisher
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bass — the fish
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — to push
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. degree — an amount

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