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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. lie — to recline
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. court — for sport
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. degree — an amount
  7. root — of a word
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. root — the cause
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. degree — from a university

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