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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: bore · wave · patient · fork · calf · wind · spell · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. spell — magic
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spell — a short time
  11. fork — in a road
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. spell — letters
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bore — to drill
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. degree — from a university

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