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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. clip — to cut
  5. swing — in golf
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. band — a music group
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. clip — a video
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. degree — temperature
  14. swing — to play on
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. band — a ring
  17. clip — for paper
  18. swing — music
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. degree — from a university

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