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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kid — child
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — from a university
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. key — the most important part
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — temperature
  13. land — a country
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mate — to breed
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. land — to come down
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. land — ground
  21. mate — a partner
  22. key — in music
  23. bass — low music
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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