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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: degree · rock · date · last · patient · wind · lash · rule

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rule — government
  3. rock — music
  4. last — finally
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wind — moving air
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rule — a law
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. degree — temperature
  15. last — to go on
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. date — the fruit
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. last — final

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