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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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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: board · rash · patient · stem · straw · degree · pitch · bowl

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pitch — completely
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rash — a series
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. board — to get on
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. degree — temperature
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — a committee

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