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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. shower — rain
  3. land — to come down
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. last — to go on
  7. clip — for paper
  8. deal — to handle
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. land — a country
  15. clip — to cut
  16. degree — temperature
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. last — final
  20. land — ground
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. last — finally
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. clip — a video

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