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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: coach · hand · content · nail · degree · wound · patient · spell

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — temperature
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hand — in cards
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spell — a short time
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wound — an injury
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. spell — letters
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wound — an injury
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spell — magic
  24. hand — help

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