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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: cold · patient · degree · safe · squash · bowl · fall · rest

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. fall — the season
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fall — to drop
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. rest — what's left
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. squash — the sport
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cold — an illness
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cold — not warm
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. bowl — to roll
  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