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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mark — a grade
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. firm — a company
  14. mark — a trace
  15. firm — decided
  16. degree — from a university
  17. squash — the sport
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. firm — steady
  20. branch — a division
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wind — moving air

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