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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 124 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. degree — from a university
  3. tear — to rip
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cell — a phone
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — temperature
  11. drill — a practice
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. drill — army training
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — a tool
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. drill — the tool
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. tear — from crying
  23. row — a line
  24. cell — in a prison

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