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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: clip · wax · degree · patient · squash · bowl · bore · ground

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bore — to tire
  9. clip — a video
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. wax — to grow
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bore — to drill
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. clip — for paper
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. degree — an amount

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