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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. club — a group
  10. ball — a great time
  11. club — for golf
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ball — a dance
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. club — for dancing
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. degree — an amount

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