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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 116 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: bear · swing · scale · shower · degree · field · vault · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. field — a subject
  3. shower — rain
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. shower — to wash
  6. field — farmland
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. degree — temperature
  10. scale — in music
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. swing — music
  14. degree — from a university
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. swing — to play on
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bear — the animal
  20. vault — a safe
  21. scale — size or range
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. swing — in golf
  24. field — for sport

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