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

Word bank: patient · face · fan · row · degree · race · board · stand

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. board — to get on
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. face — to point toward
  6. race — the arms race
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. face — part of the head
  10. race — humankind
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. stand — to bear
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. degree — an amount
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. race — a contest
  21. board — a committee
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. face — to confront

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