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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: vault · wave · row · patient · degree · game · wind · branch

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wind — moving air
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. vault — a safe
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. degree — temperature
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. game — wild animals
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. row — a line
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. degree — an amount
  16. game — a match
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. branch — a division
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wind — to turn a key

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