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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. degree — an amount
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. dip — to sink
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rest — what's left
  8. degree — from a university
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. root — the cause
  11. rest — a break
  12. file — a line of people
  13. court — for sport
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. file — a document
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. court — of a king
  20. branch — a division
  21. court — of law
  22. rest — what's left
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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