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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: tear · patient · degree · craft · wave · cell

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. cell — in biology
  4. tear — from crying
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cell — a phone
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. craft — a handicraft

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