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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 116 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. track — a song
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. key — the most important part
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. game — wild animals
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a path
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. key — in music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. saw — the tool
  19. key — for a lock
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. degree — temperature
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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