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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. field — for sport
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — for digging
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. degree — an amount
  12. field — a subject
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. field — farmland
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — temperature
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to spend time

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