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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. craft — boats
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. degree — from a university
  5. can — a tin
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. rule — government
  10. can — a tin
  11. snap — to click
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. can — to be able to
  14. degree — an amount
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. degree — temperature
  18. craft — a skill

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