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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. chest — a box
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. degree — from a university
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. degree — an amount
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. chest — of your body
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pop — soda
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pop — music
  19. season — in sport
  20. track — a song
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. pop — to visit
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. season — of the year

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