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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tube — a container
  7. capital — money
  8. march — the month
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fork — in a road
  13. degree — from a university
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. march — music
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. deal — to handle
  20. kick — in football
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. degree — temperature
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — a city

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