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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: patient · mate · rule · degree · nail · drill · pitcher · cap

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rule — a law
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cap — a lid
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rule — government
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. degree — temperature
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. mate — a partner
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cap — of ice
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cap — a hat
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. drill — army training

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