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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: pit · patient · jam · season · chest · present · degree · temple

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pit — a hole
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — in a race
  9. present — the time now
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chest — a box
  14. degree — an amount
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. present — a gift
  18. degree — from a university
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. season — of the year
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. temple — side of the head

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