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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: coach · last · wind · race · degree · patient

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. degree — temperature
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. race — a contest
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — final
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wind — moving air
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. degree — from a university
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. degree — an amount
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. last — to go on
  18. coach — a trainer

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