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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: staff · patient · file · degree · land · bound · tear · cabinet

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bound — certain
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. degree — an amount
  5. tear — from crying
  6. land — ground
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bound — tied together
  9. land — to come down
  10. file — a document
  11. land — a country
  12. file — a tool
  13. staff — employees
  14. degree — from a university
  15. tear — from crying
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bound — obliged
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. tear — to rip

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