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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 120 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. plane — a tool
  3. clip — a video
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. land — ground
  7. face — to point toward
  8. land — a country
  9. face — part of the head
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. face — to confront
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. land — to come down
  21. rash — a series
  22. degree — an amount
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. clip — to cut

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