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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: lash · drill · saw · mine · patient · degree · pop · wound

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pop — soda
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. drill — the tool
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. degree — from a university
  20. drill — army training
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wound — an injury

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