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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: court · degree · patient · bay · drill · rule

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — the tool
  4. rule — government
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. degree — temperature
  16. drill — army training
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rule — a law

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