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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · hide · degree · rule · drill · sharp · march · patient

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. degree — from a university
  3. march — music
  4. face — part of the head
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rule — government
  12. drill — the tool
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. face — to point toward
  19. sharp — clever
  20. rule — a law
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. sharp — exactly

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