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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 120 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fine — all right
  3. rule — a law
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a hint
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cue — a signal
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. fine — high quality
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rule — government
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. degree — an amount
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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