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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 116 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 · pound · cell · pop · degree · calf · coach · content

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. content — happy
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. degree — from a university
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — soda
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. degree — temperature
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cell — a phone
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cell — in biology
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pound — a weight
  22. content — the amount
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pop — to visit

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