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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. march — music
  8. cell — a phone
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. degree — an amount
  12. march — the month
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cell — in biology
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wake — before a funeral

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