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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. field — for sport
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cue — a signal
  5. board — a committee
  6. file — a document
  7. board — to get on
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cue — for pool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — an amount
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pass — a permit
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mine — for digging
  16. field — a subject
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. cue — a hint
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. file — a tool
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. field — farmland
  24. mine — belonging to me

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