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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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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. deal — to handle
  3. season — of the year
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. land — ground
  6. chair — a leader
  7. degree — from a university
  8. season — in sport
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. degree — an amount
  12. land — a country
  13. degree — temperature
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. object — to protest
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. object — an aim
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. land — to come down

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