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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 120 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: march · degree · capital · mug · fan · hand · mouse · patient

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. degree — an amount
  5. march — the month
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. hand — in cards
  8. march — music
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. mug — to rob
  12. degree — temperature
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. hand — help
  19. capital — a city
  20. mug — a face
  21. capital — money
  22. mug — a cup
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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