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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.

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: cap · degree · hide · chest · mate · rash · spring · patient

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spring — a coil
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spring — the season
  6. chest — a box
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cap — of ice
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cap — a lid
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. spring — of water
  19. mate — to breed
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. mate — a partner
  23. rash — a series
  24. mate — a friend

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