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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: press · vault · degree · patient · nail · mark · cold · saw

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — a publisher
  3. saw — the tool
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a trace
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cold — an illness
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. degree — temperature
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. degree — an amount
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. press — to push
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. press — newspapers
  24. vault — a safe

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