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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: row · shower · field · mate · degree · ruler · tear · patient

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. row — to paddle
  2. shower — rain
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mate — a friend
  10. field — a subject
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — for sport
  14. mate — to breed
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. degree — temperature
  19. field — farmland
  20. shower — to wash
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mate — a partner
  23. degree — an amount
  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