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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lean · file · wave · patient · sharp · stem · straw · degree

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. degree — from a university
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. file — a line of people
  15. degree — an amount
  16. lean — to bend
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stem — to come from

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