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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · stem · march · straw · trunk · degree · swing · ball

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. degree — temperature
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. march — the month
  11. swing — music
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ball — a great time
  17. stem — to come from
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. ball — a dance
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. swing — to play on

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