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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. game — wild animals
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. last — finally
  6. degree — temperature
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. last — to go on
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. last — final
  19. dip — to sink
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. game — a match
  22. degree — an amount
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. leaves — of a tree

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