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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · wound · patient · chest · dip · degree · season · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. chest — a box
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. land — a country
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. degree — temperature
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. degree — from a university
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. land — ground
  14. wound — an injury
  15. dip — to sink
  16. perch — the fish
  17. chest — of your body
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. season — in sport
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. season — of the year
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. degree — an amount
  24. perch — for a bird

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