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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. field — a subject
  3. spell — magic
  4. tube — the underground
  5. degree — from a university
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. field — for sport
  8. perch — the fish
  9. tube — a container
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bulb — for light
  13. firm — a company
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spell — letters
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. spell — a short time
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. field — farmland
  24. firm — steady

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