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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. last — to go on
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. last — finally
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. last — final
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. wound — an injury
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rule — government
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. rule — a law
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mouse — the animal

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