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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: face · degree · press · patient · kid · cabinet · bay · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. kid — child
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. can — a tin
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. press — to push
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. kid — to tease
  21. degree — an amount
  22. face — part of the head
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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