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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. chest — of your body
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — of law
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. club — for dancing
  12. court — of a king
  13. pass — a permit
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. club — a group
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. court — for sport
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. chest — a box
  21. club — for golf
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cabinet — ministers

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