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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. tube — the underground
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bear — the animal
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stock — goods
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stock — shares
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. land — a country
  15. tube — a container
  16. land — to come down
  17. degree — from a university
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bear — the animal
  20. land — ground
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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