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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rush · board · degree · safe · patient · wave · cold · wound

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cold — an illness
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — a committee
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wound — an injury
  16. board — to get on
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. degree — an amount

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