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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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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: pop · cold · bear · cell · degree · calf · patient · rash

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pop — soda
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rash — a series
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pop — to visit
  8. degree — temperature
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cell — in biology
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rash — hasty
  17. cold — an illness
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pop — music
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. cell — a phone
  23. degree — from a university
  24. calf — a young animal

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