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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: hide · rule · march · track · patient · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rule — a law
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. march — the month
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. rule — government
  12. march — the month
  13. track — to keep track
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. march — music
  18. degree — from a university

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