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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: content · cabinet · degree · staff · patient · kick

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. staff — employees
  4. degree — from a university
  5. staff — employees
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. content — happy
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. content — the amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. staff — a stick
  15. degree — an amount
  16. kick — in football
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. kick — with a leg

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