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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: press · patient · capital · leaves · degree · march · club · trunk

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. march — music
  5. club — a group
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. capital — a city
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. degree — an amount
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. degree — temperature
  13. march — the month
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. press — to push
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. capital — money
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. press — a publisher
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. press — newspapers
  24. march — the month

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