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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: saw · sharp · deal · patient · degree · capital · court · date

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. capital — money
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. degree — temperature
  5. sharp — clever
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. court — for sport
  9. degree — from a university
  10. court — of a king
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. saw — the tool
  13. court — of law
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. capital — a city
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. saw — the tool
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. degree — an amount
  24. deal — to handle

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