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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 116 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: fine · cold · patient · pound · degree · object · bank · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bank — of a river
  4. pound — a weight
  5. last — to go on
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — to protest
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. object — an aim
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. object — a thing
  17. fine — all right
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. last — final
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — for money
  24. cold — an illness

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