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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. craft — boats
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. dip — to sink
  6. kid — to tease
  7. degree — an amount
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. degree — temperature
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cap — of ice
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — certain
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cap — a lid
  23. degree — from a university
  24. kid — child

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