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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. stock — goods
  4. degree — temperature
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. stock — shares
  9. court — for sport
  10. cap — a hat
  11. degree — an amount
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. court — of law
  14. cap — a lid
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cap — of ice
  18. chair — a leader
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. hand — help
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. court — of a king
  24. hand — in cards

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