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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.

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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: rush · bank · patient · press · net · degree · ground · season

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. net — in sport
  3. bank — of a river
  4. ground — crushed
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. press — a publisher
  7. degree — an amount
  8. net — for catching
  9. bank — for money
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. press — to push
  12. ground — the earth
  13. season — of the year
  14. ground — a position
  15. bank — for money
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rush — hurry
  19. net — after costs
  20. season — in sport
  21. press — newspapers
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. degree — temperature
  24. season — to add flavour

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