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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · patient · degree · chair · ball · firm

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. firm — decided
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. club — for dancing
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. club — for golf
  11. firm — a company
  12. club — a group
  13. degree — temperature
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. firm — steady
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ball — a dance
  18. degree — an amount

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