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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 · chest · degree · foot · shower · cell

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. chest — a box
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cell — in biology
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. degree — from a university
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chest — of your body
  14. shower — to wash
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chest — of your body

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