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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. rest — what's left
  3. mark — a grade
  4. current — electric
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. degree — temperature
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rest — what's left
  10. drill — army training
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. current — of water
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mark — a trace
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rest — a break
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cold — an illness
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rule — government
  21. current — happening now
  22. rule — a law
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. degree — an amount

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