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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: rush · can · tube · wind · spell · patient · degree · row

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rush — hurry
  3. row — a line
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. can — a tin
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. degree — temperature
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. row — to paddle
  23. tube — a container
  24. degree — an amount

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