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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. row — to paddle
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. court — of a king
  8. rule — a law
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. court — for sport
  13. march — the month
  14. row — a line
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. march — music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. content — the amount
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. content — happy
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rule — government
  24. court — of law

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