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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: safe · degree · rush · pound · file · press · patient · kick

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. file — a tool
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. file — a line of people
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kick — in football
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. pound — a weight
  17. press — to push
  18. file — a document
  19. press — a publisher
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pound — for dogs

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