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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: calf · degree · patient · bulb · clip · plane · board · rush

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rush — hurry
  6. degree — an amount
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. plane — a tool
  10. board — a committee
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. board — to get on
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bulb — for light
  24. clip — a video

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