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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: march · rule · chest · patient · arm · rush · last · degree

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. last — to go on
  3. rule — government
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. last — finally
  7. chest — of your body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rush — hurry
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — from a university
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. march — the month
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. last — final
  23. degree — an amount
  24. march — music

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