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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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: degree · bat · lie · mine · wax · press · row · patient

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. lie — to recline
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bat — the animal
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. press — a publisher
  20. row — a line
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. degree — an amount
  24. row — a quarrel

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