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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. charge — electricity
  4. scale — in music
  5. charge — a price
  6. mate — to breed
  7. key — in music
  8. game — wild animals
  9. degree — temperature
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. game — a match
  13. degree — from a university
  14. charge — in control
  15. mate — a friend
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mate — a partner
  18. key — the most important part
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. key — for a lock
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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