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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mate — a friend
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mug — a cup
  7. clip — to cut
  8. degree — an amount
  9. net — for catching
  10. mate — a partner
  11. clip — a video
  12. stand — to bear
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — after costs
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a face
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. mate — to breed
  20. degree — temperature
  21. net — in sport
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — a leader

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