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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bore — to drill
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bulb — for light
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pass — a permit
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to tire
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bulb — for light

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