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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 120 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: capital · bound · patient · rush · straw · degree · bowl · drill

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. drill — the tool
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. capital — a city
  5. drill — a practice
  6. degree — an amount
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. degree — from a university
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. capital — money
  16. degree — temperature
  17. drill — army training
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bound — obliged
  24. straw — a straw man

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