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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — a face
  16. bark — to shout
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. degree — an amount
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cold — not warm
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mug — to rob

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