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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.

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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: bound · degree · bear · net · wave · game · trunk · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. net — after costs
  8. bound — tied together
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bound — certain
  13. net — in sport
  14. bound — obliged
  15. game — wild animals
  16. net — for catching
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. game — a match
  19. degree — an amount
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. game — a kind of play

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