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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bound — certain
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. sharp — clever
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. degree — an amount
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. fine — all right
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bound — obliged
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bear — the animal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bound — tied together
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. march — music
  23. fine — high quality
  24. degree — from a university

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