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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spring — the season
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. spring — of water
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. degree — from a university
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mug — a cup
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rush — hurry
  19. squash — the sport
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pound — a weight
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mug — a face

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