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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. file — a tool
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. snap — to click
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. tear — from crying
  14. dip — to sink
  15. file — a document
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. tear — to rip
  19. file — a line of people
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. tear — from crying
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. dip — a sauce

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