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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.

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: cap · bulb · bark · degree · swing · patient · mine · hide

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cap — a hat
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. degree — temperature
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bulb — for light
  18. degree — an amount
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bulb — of a plant

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