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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · nail · cold · spring · degree · root · lie · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spring — of water
  14. cold — not warm
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. root — of a plant
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. root — the cause
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lie — to recline
  21. spring — the season
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. root — of a word

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