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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. land — a country
  3. degree — from a university
  4. land — ground
  5. march — the month
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. last — final
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. march — music
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. march — the month
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. last — finally
  23. land — to come down
  24. last — to go on

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