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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — farmland
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. rule — government
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. march — music
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rule — a law
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. date — the fruit
  14. fork — in a road
  15. saw — the tool
  16. field — for sport
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. saw — the tool
  23. march — the month
  24. field — a subject

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