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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. cold — an illness
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. current — electric
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. saw — the tool
  11. squash — the sport
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. squash — to crush
  14. degree — temperature
  15. current — of water
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cold — not warm
  18. degree — an amount
  19. saw — the tool
  20. current — happening now
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. degree — from a university

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