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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: row · cap · degree · rash · kick · field · swing · patient

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cap — a hat
  3. field — farmland
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cap — a lid
  6. swing — music
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. degree — temperature
  9. field — a subject
  10. swing — in golf
  11. rash — hasty
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rash — a series
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cap — of ice
  21. field — for sport
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. degree — from a university
  24. patient — a sick person

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