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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mate — a friend
  4. row — a line
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bear — the animal
  9. row — to paddle
  10. degree — from a university
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. mate — a partner
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. kick — in football
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. season — in sport
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. season — of the year
  24. mate — to breed

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