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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pass — a permit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. last — finally
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cold — an illness
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. last — final
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. last — to go on
  23. bore — to tire
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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