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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mug — a cup
  4. saw — the tool
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. degree — an amount
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. swing — music
  10. mug — a face
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. swing — in golf
  13. degree — temperature
  14. spring — of water
  15. saw — the tool
  16. club — for golf
  17. mug — to rob
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. club — a group
  20. spring — the season
  21. club — for dancing
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. swing — to play on

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