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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. degree — from a university
  7. last — to go on
  8. march — the month
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. degree — temperature
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. last — final
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. last — finally

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