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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. race — humankind
  4. file — a line of people
  5. clip — for paper
  6. race — the arms race
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wound — an injury
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. race — a contest
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. file — a document
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. file — a tool
  16. clip — a video
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wound — an injury
  19. plane — a tool
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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