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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: patient · chest · season · bank · spring · calf · degree · pit

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. chest — a box
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bank — for money
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. spring — of water
  9. bank — of a river
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. pit — a hole
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. season — in sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. season — of the year
  18. pit — in a race
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. degree — temperature
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — an amount
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bank — for money

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