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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bank — for money
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. scale — size or range
  9. ground — a position
  10. bank — of a river
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. net — for catching
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. net — after costs
  18. ground — crushed
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. net — in sport
  21. bank — for money
  22. ground — the earth
  23. degree — from a university
  24. scale — in music

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