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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — a trail
  3. march — music
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rule — a law
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rule — government
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. content — happy
  15. march — the month
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. rule — to rule out

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