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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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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: hand · cue · press · row · degree · bound · racket · patient

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cue — a hint
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. press — to push
  5. row — a line
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bound — tied together
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cue — for pool
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. press — newspapers
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bound — obliged
  19. press — a publisher
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bound — certain
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. hand — help
  24. degree — temperature

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