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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mug — to rob
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mug — a face
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mug — a cup
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bore — to drill
  17. stock — shares
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stock — goods
  22. wind — moving air
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wind — moving air

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