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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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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: wound · degree · row · kick · ground · cap · bay · patient

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wound — an injury
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cap — a lid
  7. kick — in football
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. ground — a position
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. ground — the earth
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wound — an injury
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. row — to paddle
  22. ground — crushed
  23. row — a line
  24. patient — a sick person

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