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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pop — to visit
  5. hand — help
  6. pop — soda
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. current — of water
  10. degree — an amount
  11. current — electric
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. current — happening now
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pop — music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. kid — child
  24. patient — a sick person

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