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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: pass · degree · content · net · mark · patient · rash · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. net — after costs
  3. mark — a trace
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. content — happy
  6. degree — temperature
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. net — for catching
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rash — hasty
  20. net — in sport
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. content — the amount
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. mark — a grade

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