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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. mark — a grade
  3. content — the amount
  4. mark — a trace
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. content — happy
  8. swing — to play on
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. track — a song
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a path
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. degree — temperature
  19. swing — music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — a division
  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