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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. row — a line
  5. degree — an amount
  6. row — to paddle
  7. degree — temperature
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. field — farmland
  12. charge — in control
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. charge — electricity
  16. last — to go on
  17. charge — a price
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. rule — government
  20. squash — to crush
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. last — finally
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rule — a law

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