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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ball — a great time
  5. field — for sport
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. field — a subject
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. hand — help
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. degree — an amount
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stock — shares
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. degree — from a university
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stock — goods
  24. field — farmland

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