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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pass — a permit
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — an amount
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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