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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: hide · press · patient · sharp · pitcher · prune · cabinet · degree

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. degree — from a university
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. press — to push
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. degree — an amount
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. hide — animal skin

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