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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: deal · degree · spring · field · patient · drill · trunk · wax

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. spring — a coil
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. field — for sport
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. deal — to handle
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. field — farmland
  13. degree — an amount
  14. drill — army training
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. field — a subject
  21. drill — the tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. trunk — of a car

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