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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rest — a break
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — happy
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rest — what's left
  14. degree — an amount
  15. roll — a cake
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. content — the amount
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. content — videos and posts

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