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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 120 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: wave · pass · band · wake · board · patient · degree · cold

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. band — a music group
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. band — a ring
  11. wake — a trail
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — to get on
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cold — not warm
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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