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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 · band · present · calf · nail · degree · rush · pitcher

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. present — there
  13. band — a music group
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. band — a ring
  17. degree — an amount
  18. present — a gift
  19. degree — from a university
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. present — the time now
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. calf — of the leg

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