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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · game · clip · mug · degree · net · patient · staff

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. clip — a video
  3. staff — employees
  4. degree — from a university
  5. clip — to cut
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mug — a cup
  8. staff — a stick
  9. degree — temperature
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. mug — a face
  15. game — wild animals
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mine — for digging
  19. staff — employees
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — an amount
  22. game — a match
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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