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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: degree · cell · trunk · cap · shower · hide · patient · temple

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. shower — to wash
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. shower — rain
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cell — in biology
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cap — a hat
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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