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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. degree — temperature
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitch — completely
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bound — certain
  9. staff — employees
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. bound — obliged
  12. vault — a safe
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. staff — employees
  18. bound — tied together
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. staff — a stick

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