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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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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: shower · bay · degree · patient · ball · fall · chair · branch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. chair — a leader
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. ball — a great time
  7. degree — temperature
  8. ball — a dance
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fall — to drop
  12. branch — a division
  13. fall — the season
  14. degree — an amount
  15. shower — to wash
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. shower — rain
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ball — a round shape

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