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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. land — a country
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. land — ground
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. degree — from a university
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. land — to come down
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kick — in football
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. face — to confront
  24. degree — temperature

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