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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bore — to tire
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. degree — temperature
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. present — the time now
  10. spring — of water
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. present — there
  17. row — to paddle
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. spring — the season
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bore — to drill
  22. present — a gift
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spring — a coil

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