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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. last — final
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. degree — an amount
  7. clip — a video
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. suit — in cards
  15. bore — to tire
  16. sharp — clever
  17. suit — clothes
  18. bore — to drill
  19. degree — from a university
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. suit — to fit
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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