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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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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: degree · tear · march · cap · charge · patient · club · cold

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. degree — temperature
  4. club — a group
  5. charge — electricity
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. club — for dancing
  10. charge — a price
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — an illness
  15. march — music
  16. club — for golf
  17. march — the month
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — a hat
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — not warm
  23. degree — from a university
  24. charge — in control

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