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

Word bank: mark · present · chip · arm · date · patient · cold · degree

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cold — an illness
  5. date — the fruit
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. chip — for betting
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. present — there
  14. present — a gift
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mark — a grade
  17. present — the time now
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mark — a trace
  21. chip — to eat
  22. degree — from a university
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. mark — to pay attention

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