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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. degree — temperature
  4. march — the month
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a grade
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. hand — help
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spring — the season
  11. march — music
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cue — for pool
  14. mark — a trace
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cue — a hint
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cue — a signal
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bat — the animal
  23. spring — of water
  24. march — the month

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