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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. degree — from a university
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bulb — for light
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bulb — for light
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. degree — temperature
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — in cards
  19. spell — a short time
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spell — letters
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spell — magic

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