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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bulb — for light
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. capital — money
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. rush — hurry
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. capital — a city
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — not warm
  23. craft — a skill
  24. patient — a sick person

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