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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: calf · wind · degree · swing · patient · date

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — from a university
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. swing — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. degree — an amount
  14. date — the fruit
  15. degree — temperature
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal

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