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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: craft · rest · saw · chair · tube · degree · patient · wake

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. craft — a skill
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tube — a container
  14. wake — a trail
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — the underground
  17. rest — a break
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a leader
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a handicraft

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