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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: capital · fan · kid · last · bank · patient · degree · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. last — final
  3. bank — for money
  4. last — to go on
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. last — finally
  7. kid — to tease
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. capital — a city
  10. bank — of a river
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bank — for money
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. capital — money
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. degree — from a university
  22. kick — in football
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kid — child

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