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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. spell — a short time
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — from a university
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. staff — employees
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. staff — a stick
  11. rash — a series
  12. spell — magic
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. degree — an amount
  17. last — finally
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — to go on
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. spell — letters
  23. game — a match
  24. patient — a sick person

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