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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: wake · last · patient · cabinet · degree · lean · field · shower

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. degree — temperature
  7. last — to go on
  8. shower — rain
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wake — a trail
  13. field — farmland
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. degree — an amount
  17. last — finally
  18. degree — from a university
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. last — final
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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