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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. spring — the season
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spring — a coil
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cue — a hint
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — of water
  12. kid — child
  13. degree — from a university
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. toast — bread
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pop — music

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