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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · rash · patient · degree · tube · chair · root · field

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. field — farmland
  4. degree — temperature
  5. field — for sport
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chair — a leader
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rash — a series
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. root — the cause
  15. tube — a container
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. rash — hasty
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. field — a subject
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. degree — from a university

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