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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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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 · hand · patient · pound · chip · stick · squash · bank

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bank — for money
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pound — a weight
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chip — for betting
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. squash — the sport
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. hand — help
  13. bank — of a river
  14. hand — in cards
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bank — for money
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. patient — a sick person

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