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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · rash · patient · wax · roll · chest · hide · content

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. content — happy
  3. wax — to grow
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rash — hasty
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chest — of your body
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. roll — a cake
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rash — a series
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. roll — a list
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chest — a box
  23. degree — from a university
  24. content — the amount

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