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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: patient · racket · court · arm · calf · degree · toast · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. degree — temperature
  6. toast — bread
  7. mate — a friend
  8. degree — an amount
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. degree — from a university
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. court — of law
  14. mate — to breed
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. court — for sport
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. court — of a king
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — the most admired

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