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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: root · degree · net · bowl · bear · wake · patient · tube

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bear — the animal
  5. root — of a word
  6. net — for catching
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wake — a trail
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bear — the animal
  13. net — after costs
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. net — in sport
  16. tube — a container
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. degree — temperature
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. degree — an amount
  24. root — the cause

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