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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 116 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: bulb · patient · cold · stick · tear · degree

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. degree — temperature
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tear — from crying
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bulb — for light
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — an illness
  14. degree — an amount
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. tear — to rip

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