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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: bank · patient · capital · bound · game · date · degree · band

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. band — a music group
  3. game — wild animals
  4. capital — money
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bank — of a river
  7. degree — from a university
  8. date — the fruit
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bank — for money
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bound — certain
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. degree — an amount
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. capital — a city
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bank — for money
  21. bound — tied together
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bound — obliged
  24. band — a ring

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