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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wound — an injury
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cue — a signal
  9. court — of a king
  10. cue — a hint
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. court — for sport
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bear — the animal
  16. court — of law
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cue — for pool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wound — an injury

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