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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. ball — a dance
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. shower — to wash
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. clip — to cut
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. clip — a video
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. shower — rain
  21. clip — for paper
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ball — a great time

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