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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — a signal
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. degree — temperature
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. hand — help
  12. present — the time now
  13. chair — a leader
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. present — there
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cue — for pool
  20. foot — a measure
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. present — a gift
  24. hand — in cards

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