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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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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: snap · last · degree · deal · patient · craft

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. degree — temperature
  7. craft — boats
  8. snap — to click
  9. degree — an amount
  10. craft — a skill
  11. degree — from a university
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. last — final
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. last — to go on
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. deal — to handle

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