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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. prune — to trim
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mate — a friend
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — from a university
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. rest — a break
  14. degree — temperature
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. roll — a list
  18. degree — an amount
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chair — a leader
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — to breed

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