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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. degree — an amount
  3. club — for golf
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. club — for dancing
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. hand — help
  10. bound — obliged
  11. hand — in cards
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. fine — high quality
  18. club — a group
  19. season — in sport
  20. bound — certain
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. season — of the year
  23. bound — tied together
  24. degree — temperature

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