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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 116 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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. swing — in golf
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. swing — music
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bark — to shout

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