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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · patient · degree · board · file · sharp · deal · rush

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. deal — to handle
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spring — a coil
  5. file — a line of people
  6. degree — from a university
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. file — a tool
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. spring — of water
  12. degree — an amount
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. spring — the season
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — temperature
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. rush — hurry
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. board — to get on

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