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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: mug · lean · degree · field · capital · patient · can · court

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mug — to rob
  3. degree — temperature
  4. court — of a king
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. can — to be able to
  9. court — of law
  10. degree — an amount
  11. can — a tin
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mug — a face
  14. lean — thin
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. capital — a city
  17. mug — a cup
  18. can — a tin
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lean — to bend
  21. field — farmland
  22. capital — money
  23. court — for sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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