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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. spring — the season
  4. shower — to wash
  5. net — after costs
  6. degree — from a university
  7. net — for catching
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. tube — a container
  10. shower — rain
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bear — the animal
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. net — in sport
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. spring — of water
  24. bear — 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