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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: track · chest · file · capital · patient · prune · coach · degree

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. track — a song
  3. degree — temperature
  4. capital — a city
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chest — of your body
  7. track — to keep track
  8. file — a tool
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. file — a document
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — an amount
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. file — a line of people
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chest — a box
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. track — a path
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. prune — to trim

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