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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. key — the most important part
  3. charge — electricity
  4. file — a tool
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. degree — from a university
  8. charge — in control
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wax — to grow
  11. file — a line of people
  12. charge — a price
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cell — in biology
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. key — in music
  17. key — for a lock
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. degree — temperature
  24. file — a document

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