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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: game · chair · degree · pass · bowl · patient · rock · perch

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. degree — from a university
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. game — wild animals
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rock — a stone
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. perch — the fish
  20. game — a match
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. chair — a professorship

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