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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: kick · net · degree · lean · content · mine · dip · patient

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. degree — from a university
  3. net — for catching
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — thin
  6. net — after costs
  7. degree — temperature
  8. net — in sport
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. content — the amount
  16. degree — an amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mine — for digging
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. content — happy
  22. kick — in football
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kick — with a 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