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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. degree — temperature
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. prune — to trim
  13. dip — to sink
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. prune — the fruit

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