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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 · pound · degree · lean · row · trunk · drill · chair

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. drill — a practice
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. lean — thin
  8. degree — an amount
  9. row — to paddle
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pound — a weight
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. lean — to bend
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. drill — the tool
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. drill — army training
  24. row — a quarrel

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