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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: patient · lash · degree · date · hide · leaves · row · wind

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. row — a line
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. row — to paddle
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wind — moving air
  12. degree — an amount
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. degree — from a university
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. date — the fruit
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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