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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — steady
  3. present — there
  4. march — the month
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. march — music
  9. degree — from a university
  10. firm — decided
  11. present — the time now
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. degree — an amount
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — a coil
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. present — a gift
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — thin

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