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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mug — a cup
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mug — to rob
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pit — in a race
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bound — certain

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