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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: stick · race · sharp · patient · rule · fall · degree · last

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. sharp — clever
  6. fall — to drop
  7. race — the arms race
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. rule — government
  12. degree — from a university
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. race — a contest
  16. last — final
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. race — humankind
  19. fall — the season
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rule — a law
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rule — to rule out

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