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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wound — an injury
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. degree — an amount
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. spring — of water
  22. game — a match
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pitcher — a jug

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