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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. degree — temperature
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. club — a group
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. club — for dancing
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. chair — a leader
  19. degree — an amount
  20. can — to be able to
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. club — for golf
  24. patient — a sick person

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