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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 · land · hand · degree · cue · season · patient · chip

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. season — of the year
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cue — a hint
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. hand — help
  18. season — in sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cue — a signal
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. chip — to eat
  24. land — to come down

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