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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 120 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: lie · rash · patient · degree · cap · mate · wind · cold

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cap — of ice
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cap — a lid
  6. lie — to recline
  7. degree — from a university
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mate — a partner
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wind — moving air
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wind — to turn a key

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