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

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. content — happy
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bear — the animal
  9. last — to go on
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wound — an injury
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bear — the animal
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. content — the amount
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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