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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. net — after costs
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. firm — steady
  5. march — the month
  6. degree — an amount
  7. march — the month
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. march — music
  10. squash — the sport
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. ground — a position
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. firm — a company
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. firm — decided
  19. chair — a leader
  20. net — in sport
  21. ground — the earth
  22. net — for catching
  23. ground — crushed
  24. squash — to crush

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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