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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: degree · field · cell · nail · object · rock · deal · patient

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. degree — temperature
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. object — a thing
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. rock — a stone
  7. field — for sport
  8. deal — to handle
  9. object — to protest
  10. cell — a phone
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — from a university
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. rock — music
  15. field — farmland
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. field — a subject
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. object — an aim
  24. cell — in biology

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