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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — temperature
  11. club — a group
  12. degree — an amount
  13. club — for golf
  14. shower — to wash
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. club — for dancing
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. shower — rain
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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