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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: wake · degree · straw · patient · nail · cap · pitch · fine

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. cap — of ice
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cap — a hat
  11. degree — an amount
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fine — all right
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pitch — completely
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. degree — temperature

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