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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — a company
  3. degree — from a university
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. race — humankind
  6. firm — steady
  7. snap — to click
  8. degree — an amount
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rock — a stone
  11. field — farmland
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. degree — temperature
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — electricity
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. field — a subject
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. charge — a price
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. field — for sport
  24. rock — music

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