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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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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: patient · racket · kick · wave · degree · trunk

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kick — in football
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. patient — a sick person

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