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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. court — for sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. deal — to handle
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. degree — an amount
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. court — of law
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. degree — temperature
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. court — of a king
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mouse — the animal

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