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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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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: bound · race · capital · vault · degree · patient · wax · rule

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. degree — from a university
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. capital — a city
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bound — certain
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. rule — a law
  12. degree — temperature
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bound — obliged
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rule — government
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bound — tied together

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