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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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. court — for sport
  3. degree — from a university
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. wound — an injury
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ground — a position
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. court — of a king
  11. degree — an amount
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. court — of law
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ground — the earth

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