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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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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. last — to go on
  3. march — the month
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. march — the month
  8. row — a line
  9. game — wild animals
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. present — a gift
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. present — there
  15. last — finally
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. present — the time now
  18. last — final
  19. row — to paddle
  20. craft — boats
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. game — a match
  24. craft — a skill

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