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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · degree · patient · racket · ground · press · straw · spring

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. degree — temperature
  4. spring — a coil
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — from a university
  7. spring — of water
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ground — crushed
  13. press — to push
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. ground — a position
  16. press — newspapers
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ground — the earth
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spring — the season
  22. degree — an amount
  23. press — a publisher
  24. prune — the fruit

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