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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. lie — to recline
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rest — what's left
  7. track — to keep track
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. track — a path
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — a leader
  22. degree — an amount
  23. deal — to handle
  24. lie — an untruth

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