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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: mug · kid · staff · patient · dip · foot · field · degree

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. staff — a stick
  3. degree — temperature
  4. field — farmland
  5. staff — employees
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. degree — an amount
  9. dip — to sink
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mug — a cup
  13. field — for sport
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mug — a face
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kid — child
  18. foot — a measure
  19. field — a subject
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mug — to rob
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. staff — employees

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