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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 120 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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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: kick · patient · cold · degree · racket · shower · suit · press

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. degree — an amount
  3. shower — rain
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cold — an illness
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. suit — in cards
  10. shower — to wash
  11. suit — clothes
  12. degree — from a university
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. suit — to fit
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. degree — temperature
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. cold — not warm

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