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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — an amount
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. charge — a price
  11. snap — to click
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. squash — the sport
  17. charge — in control
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. charge — electricity
  20. squash — to crush
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hide — to keep secret

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