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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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Word bank
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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. game — wild animals
  3. degree — temperature
  4. band — a music group
  5. file — a line of people
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. degree — from a university
  9. game — a match
  10. staff — employees
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — an amount
  13. file — a document
  14. chair — a leader
  15. band — a ring
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. staff — a stick
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. staff — employees

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