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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. rule — a law
  4. degree — temperature
  5. can — a tin
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. last — to go on
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. last — final
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. can — a tin
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — hurry
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. rule — government
  20. last — finally
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bark — to shout
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. can — to be able to

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