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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. firm — decided
  3. degree — temperature
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. firm — a company
  10. clip — a video
  11. degree — from a university
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. clip — for paper
  14. firm — steady
  15. court — of law
  16. rest — what's left
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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