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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. firm — steady
  3. row — a line
  4. firm — decided
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ground — the earth
  9. net — for catching
  10. hand — in cards
  11. row — to paddle
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. hand — help
  15. net — after costs
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. firm — a company
  20. ground — a position
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. ground — crushed
  24. net — in sport

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