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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. track — to keep track
  3. drill — army training
  4. degree — from a university
  5. drill — a practice
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. drill — the tool
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. firm — steady
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. firm — a company
  15. track — a song
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. row — to paddle
  18. deal — to handle
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. track — a path
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. firm — decided
  23. chest — of your body
  24. row — a line

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