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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bass — low music
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bass — the fish
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. file — a document
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. vault — a safe
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. degree — temperature

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