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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bound — obliged
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. season — in sport
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bound — tied together
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — temperature
  9. shower — rain
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bound — certain
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — from a university
  16. march — the month
  17. shower — to wash
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. season — of the year
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. march — music

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