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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. saw — the tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. land — to come down
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. degree — temperature
  13. land — a country
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pound — a weight
  17. land — ground
  18. squash — to crush
  19. degree — from a university
  20. squash — the sport
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pop — music

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