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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mark — a grade
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mug — a cup
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mug — to rob
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mug — a face
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. tube — a container
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tube — the underground
  22. mark — a trace
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bat — the animal

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