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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. march — music
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. lie — to recline
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. capital — a city
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. capital — money
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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