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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: degree · lash · patient · cell · march · suit

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. suit — in cards
  3. degree — an amount
  4. march — music
  5. degree — from a university
  6. suit — clothes
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cell — in biology
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. suit — to fit
  18. cell — a phone

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