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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cell — in biology
  4. net — after costs
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. present — there
  7. pass — a permit
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. cell — a phone
  10. present — the time now
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. net — in sport
  13. shower — to wash
  14. present — a gift
  15. degree — an amount
  16. shower — rain
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. net — for catching
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. degree — from a university
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. cell — in a prison

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