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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: land · degree · clip · foot · bay · net · patient · bear

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. clip — a video
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. net — in sport
  7. land — a country
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bear — the animal
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — an amount
  13. land — ground
  14. clip — to cut
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. land — to come down
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bear — the animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bear — to put up with

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