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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: patient · spring · pass · degree · tear · cap · season · present

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. spring — of water
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spring — a coil
  7. season — of the year
  8. present — the time now
  9. cap — a lid
  10. spring — the season
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pass — a permit
  13. cap — a hat
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. present — a gift
  16. season — in sport
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. tear — to rip
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cap — of ice
  21. present — there
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. degree — from a university

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