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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: file · degree · stand · kid · club · patient

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. file — a document
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. file — a line of people
  10. kid — to tease
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. club — for golf
  13. kid — child
  14. degree — temperature
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. degree — from a university
  17. file — a tool
  18. stand — to bear

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