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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. last — final
  5. degree — temperature
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rest — what's left
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. degree — from a university
  12. swing — in golf
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. capital — a city
  16. rest — a break
  17. capital — money
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. rest — what's left
  20. swing — music
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. swing — to play on
  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