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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. degree — an amount
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bank — for money
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. degree — temperature
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. degree — from a university
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. kid — child
  18. bank — of a river
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cell — a phone
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bank — for money
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cell — in a prison

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