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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. object — an aim
  3. squash — the sport
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. mine — for digging
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fine — all right
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. chair — a leader
  12. degree — temperature
  13. squash — to crush
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — a thing
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fine — high quality
  24. degree — an amount

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