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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 · march · current · pop · rush · drill · bat · degree

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. march — the month
  4. degree — an amount
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. current — electric
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. current — happening now
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pop — music
  14. current — of water
  15. drill — army training
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. degree — from a university
  23. march — music
  24. bat — the animal

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