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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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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: jam · bore · last · snap · rest · file · degree · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bore — to drill
  3. last — finally
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. file — a document
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rest — a break
  10. last — final
  11. degree — from a university
  12. last — to go on
  13. rest — what's left
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. degree — an amount
  18. file — a tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. snap — to click
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rest — what's left
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. bore — to tire

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