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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. march — the month
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. land — a country
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bore — to tire
  14. degree — temperature
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. land — to come down
  17. bore — to drill
  18. land — ground
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. march — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. degree — an amount
  24. march — the month

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