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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pitch — completely
  4. staff — employees
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. staff — employees
  7. degree — an amount
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. degree — from a university
  10. plane — a tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. staff — a stick
  14. file — a tool
  15. firm — decided
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. firm — a company
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. degree — temperature
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. file — a document
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. plane — in geometry

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