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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: degree · tube · rash · patient · track · last · bark · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. track — a song
  6. tube — the underground
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. degree — from a university
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bark — to shout
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. last — to go on
  19. cap — of ice
  20. last — finally
  21. track — to keep track
  22. last — final
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. track — a path

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