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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: deal · cabinet · degree · capital · roll · patient · nail · last

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. degree — an amount
  6. last — finally
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. roll — a cake
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. degree — temperature
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. capital — a city
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. capital — money
  19. deal — to handle
  20. degree — from a university
  21. roll — a list
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. roll — on a roll

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