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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. degree — from a university
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. net — after costs
  11. shower — rain
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. degree — an amount
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. net — in sport
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stem — to come from
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rule — a law
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rule — government
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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