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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. hand — in cards
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. capital — a city
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — money
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. hand — help

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