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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: wind · squash · patient · ruler · degree · dip

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. degree — temperature
  13. squash — to crush
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. dip — to sink
  18. patient — a sick person

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