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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: patient · hand · content · degree · object · shower · fine · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. object — a thing
  3. degree — from a university
  4. content — the amount
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. object — to protest
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. shower — rain
  15. content — happy
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bound — tied together
  18. shower — to wash
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. hand — help
  22. bound — certain
  23. degree — temperature
  24. object — an aim

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