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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: band · roll · craft · object · patient · wake · spring · degree

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. roll — a cake
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. craft — a skill
  7. object — a thing
  8. roll — a list
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. degree — an amount
  13. object — to protest
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spring — the season
  16. band — a music group
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. degree — from a university
  19. craft — boats
  20. band — a ring
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. degree — temperature

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