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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 116 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cue — a hint
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cell — a phone
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. land — to come down
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. perch — the fish
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. degree — temperature
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cue — a signal
  20. degree — an amount
  21. content — the amount
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cue — for pool
  24. hide — to keep secret

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