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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. charge — electricity
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. net — after costs
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. net — for catching
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. charge — in control
  14. clip — for paper
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. clip — to cut
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. charge — a price
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. clip — a video
  23. net — in sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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