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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. sharp — clever
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. degree — from a university
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. perch — the fish
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cold — an illness
  11. present — there
  12. cold — not warm
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. degree — an amount
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. suit — in cards
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. suit — to fit
  22. present — the time now
  23. suit — clothes
  24. degree — temperature

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