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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 · scale · rule · tear · degree · firm · patient · land

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tear — from crying
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. land — a country
  6. degree — from a university
  7. march — music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. march — the month
  11. firm — decided
  12. degree — an amount
  13. scale — size or range
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. firm — a company
  16. degree — temperature
  17. firm — steady
  18. scale — in music
  19. rule — a law
  20. land — ground
  21. rule — government
  22. march — the month
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. land — to come down

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