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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. degree — temperature
  4. game — wild animals
  5. key — in music
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. row — to paddle
  10. court — of law
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cell — a phone
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. game — a match
  15. court — of a king
  16. row — a line
  17. cell — in biology
  18. key — the most important part
  19. degree — an amount
  20. key — for a lock
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. court — for 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