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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. swing — to play on
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. degree — an amount
  9. game — a match
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. row — a line
  15. pass — a permit
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bass — the fish
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bass — low music
  24. row — to paddle

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