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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 120 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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. board — to get on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. hand — help
  13. bear — the animal
  14. board — a committee
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pit — a hole
  19. degree — from a university
  20. hand — in cards
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a match
  23. pit — in a race
  24. hand — part of the body

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