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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cue — a hint
  3. firm — a company
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hand — help
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. clip — for paper
  13. degree — from a university
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cue — a signal
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fall — to drop
  18. firm — steady
  19. cue — for pool
  20. firm — decided
  21. clip — a video
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. hand — in cards

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