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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. bat — the animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. snap — to click
  7. wax — to grow
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. degree — an amount
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. field — a subject
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bat — for baseball

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