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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — temperature
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. lean — to bend
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. lean — thin
  14. march — music
  15. bore — to drill
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. face — to confront
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. march — the month
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. degree — an amount
  24. face — to point toward

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