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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bore — to drill
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. degree — from a university
  6. court — for sport
  7. bore — to tire
  8. court — of a king
  9. hand — in cards
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wound — an injury
  15. hand — help
  16. track — a song
  17. track — a path
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — of law
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wound — an injury
  24. degree — an amount

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