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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 116 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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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: degree · pass · patient · rest · tear · racket · kid · mate

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mate — a partner
  5. rest — a break
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pass — a permit
  13. rest — what's left
  14. degree — temperature
  15. tear — from crying
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mate — a friend
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mate — to breed
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. degree — an amount

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