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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mate — a partner
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. land — to come down
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chair — a leader
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. mate — a friend
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. degree — from a university
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. mate — to breed
  24. row — a quarrel

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