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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 120 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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. game — a match
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. ground — the earth
  6. clip — to cut
  7. deal — to handle
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. game — wild animals
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — temperature
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. ground — crushed
  15. degree — an amount
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. degree — from a university
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. pass — a permit
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. ground — a position

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