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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spell — magic
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. degree — temperature
  7. field — for sport
  8. spell — letters
  9. bear — the animal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bat — the animal
  14. field — a subject
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. field — farmland
  19. tear — from crying
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cue — a signal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. tear — to rip

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