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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 120 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 · tear · game · bark · pitch · object · degree · dip

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. tear — from crying
  4. degree — an amount
  5. object — an aim
  6. degree — from a university
  7. object — a thing
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. object — to protest
  16. degree — temperature
  17. tear — to rip
  18. game — a match
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pitch — completely
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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