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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. degree — from a university
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. lean — thin
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. band — a ring
  7. foot — a measure
  8. land — ground
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. lean — to bend
  13. band — a music group
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. degree — temperature
  16. roll — a list
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. date — the fruit
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. degree — an amount
  22. roll — a cake
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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