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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
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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: patient · board · capital · mouse · dip · field · degree · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. dip — to sink
  3. degree — from a university
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. board — a committee
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. field — a subject
  16. board — to get on
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. degree — an amount

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