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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. sharp — clever
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. degree — from a university
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bore — to tire
  15. chip — to eat
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. chip — for betting
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. stand — to bear
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. stand — for spectators

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