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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. degree — temperature
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mark — a grade
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. object — to protest
  9. capital — a city
  10. degree — an amount
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — a thing
  14. capital — money
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mate — to breed
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mark — a trace
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. patient — a sick person

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