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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — music
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. present — a gift
  6. capital — money
  7. march — the month
  8. present — there
  9. degree — temperature
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. suit — clothes
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. suit — in cards
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. degree — from a university
  19. present — the time now
  20. degree — an amount
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. capital — a city
  23. chip — to eat
  24. suit — to fit

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