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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. mug — a cup
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cold — an illness
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mug — a face
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ground — the earth
  19. spring — of water
  20. ground — crushed
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ground — a position
  24. spring — the season

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