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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 124 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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. rock — music
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. ball — a dance
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. date — the fruit
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cold — not warm
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. court — for sport
  16. degree — an amount
  17. court — of a king
  18. ball — a great time
  19. court — of law
  20. rock — a stone
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — an illness

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