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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 · patient · straw · march · saw · safe · mug · stock

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mug — a cup
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mug — a face
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. stock — goods
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. march — the month
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — the month
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — shares
  19. degree — temperature
  20. saw — the tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. mug — to rob
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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