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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: patient · spell · bulb · straw · row · degree

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. row — a line
  3. spell — a short time
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. spell — letters
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. row — to paddle
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. degree — from a university
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spell — magic

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