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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. suit — in cards
  3. bark — to shout
  4. suit — to fit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rest — what's left
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. suit — clothes
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rest — a break
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. degree — from a university
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. jam — a tight spot

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