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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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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: chest · object · wind · nail · present · patient · degree · foot

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. present — a gift
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. object — to protest
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. object — an aim
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chest — a box
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. object — a thing
  15. chest — of your body
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chest — of your body
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — there
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wind — moving air
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — a measure

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