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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. chair — a leader
  6. hand — in cards
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. degree — an amount
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. land — a country
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pass — a permit
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wax — to grow
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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