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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: court · patient · pit · pass · sharp · wound · scale · degree

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. court — for sport
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pit — a hole
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — of a king
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. scale — in music
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. degree — temperature
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pit — in a race
  23. degree — from a university
  24. court — of law

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