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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 116 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: straw · degree · bowl · scale · wound · lie · patient · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. scale — in music
  9. lie — to recline
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cell — a phone
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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