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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: temple · march · hand · patient · degree · vault · suit · content

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. content — the amount
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. suit — to fit
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. suit — in cards
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. suit — clothes
  11. degree — an amount
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. vault — a safe
  15. hand — in cards
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. march — the month
  18. hand — help
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. march — the month
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. degree — temperature
  23. march — music
  24. content — happy

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