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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: club · patient · mate · cap · snap · row · lash · degree

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cap — a hat
  4. degree — temperature
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. cap — of ice
  8. row — to paddle
  9. snap — to click
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. mate — a partner
  13. club — for golf
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cap — a lid
  16. degree — from a university
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mate — to breed
  19. club — for dancing
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. club — a group
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. row — a line
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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