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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. toast — bread
  2. staff — employees
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. staff — a stick
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. degree — an amount
  9. roll — a list
  10. cap — a lid
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. degree — from a university
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. cap — a hat
  18. staff — employees
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. roll — a cake
  22. cap — of ice
  23. degree — temperature
  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