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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.

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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: ruler · patient · tube · bass · mate · press · degree · spring

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bass — low music
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. spring — a coil
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. spring — the season
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bass — the fish
  10. mate — a friend
  11. press — to push
  12. degree — from a university
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spring — of water
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mate — to breed
  18. press — newspapers
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. tube — a container
  23. mate — a partner
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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