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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: patient · chair · stick · scale · wave · degree

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. scale — in music
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wave — with your hand

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