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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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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: field · plane · file · tube · capital · coach · degree · patient

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tube — the underground
  3. capital — money
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. field — for sport
  7. tube — a container
  8. field — farmland
  9. file — a tool
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. file — a document
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. degree — temperature
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. degree — an amount
  20. capital — a city
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. field — a subject
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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