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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: wind · shower · chest · tube · degree · mouse · patient · season

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. tube — a container
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. season — of the year
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chest — a box
  14. degree — from a university
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. shower — rain
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tube — the underground
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — in sport

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