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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cell — in biology
  3. degree — temperature
  4. firm — steady
  5. cell — a phone
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — a trace
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. firm — a company
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. tear — from crying
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rash — hasty
  20. degree — an amount
  21. row — a line
  22. rash — a series
  23. row — to paddle
  24. firm — decided

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