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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. can — a tin
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. court — for sport
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bore — to drill
  11. court — of a king
  12. tear — from crying
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. court — of law
  17. season — of the year
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bore — to tire
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. season — in sport
  24. degree — temperature

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