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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 124 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: bowl · degree · fork · trunk · charge · patient · ground · cold

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cold — an illness
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. degree — an amount
  9. charge — a price
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fork — in a road
  12. ground — crushed
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. charge — in control
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. charge — electricity
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ground — a position
  24. cold — not warm

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