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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pound — a weight
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mug — a face
  10. pass — a permit
  11. mug — a cup
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. toast — bread
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. mug — to rob

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