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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 · jam · march · patient · fine · lean · rest · kid

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. march — the month
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. march — music
  5. rest — a break
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. lean — to bend
  9. fine — all right
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. degree — from a university
  13. kid — child
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. lean — thin
  16. rest — what's left
  17. march — the month
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. kid — to tease
  20. degree — an amount
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. fine — high quality
  24. rest — what's left

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