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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. chair — a leader
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mug — a face
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mug — to rob
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. swing — music
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. prune — to trim
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rash — a series
  18. tear — to rip
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rash — hasty
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mug — a cup
  23. swing — to play on
  24. degree — from a university

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