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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: patient · rule · pit · pound · pass · ground · face · degree

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pit — a hole
  8. rule — government
  9. pass — a permit
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. ground — a position
  14. pound — a weight
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ground — crushed
  18. pit — in a race
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rule — a law
  21. degree — an amount
  22. face — part of the head
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. ground — the earth

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