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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 116 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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. squash — the sport
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. degree — temperature
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cold — an illness
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. row — to paddle
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. field — a subject

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