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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. date — the fruit
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. staff — a stick
  10. degree — from a university
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. scale — in music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. staff — employees
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kick — in football
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — employees
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. scale — size or range
  24. patient — a sick person

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