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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: bowl · patient · branch · snap · foot · cap · degree · dip

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. degree — from a university
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. branch — a division
  13. cap — a lid
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to click
  16. cap — of ice
  17. dip — to sink
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. foot — a measure
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. dip — a sauce

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