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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: foot · swing · capital · degree · pit · firm · net · patient

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. swing — to play on
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pit — in a race
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. capital — a city
  8. degree — temperature
  9. firm — a company
  10. capital — money
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. firm — steady
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. net — after costs
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pit — a hole
  18. swing — in golf
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. swing — music
  21. degree — an amount
  22. net — for catching
  23. foot — a measure
  24. net — in sport

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