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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: chair · degree · shower · club · drill · patient

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. drill — the tool
  3. degree — from a university
  4. shower — to wash
  5. drill — a practice
  6. club — a group
  7. degree — an amount
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. chair — a leader
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. drill — army training

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