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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: patient · cold · rush · mark · chip · degree · stem · lie

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. chip — for betting
  2. lie — to recline
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mark — a trace
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rush — hurry
  12. cold — not warm
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mark — a grade
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. patient — a sick person
  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