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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. march — the month
  3. cold — not warm
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. march — music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cold — an illness
  11. spell — letters
  12. tube — the underground
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. tube — a container
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spell — magic
  21. hand — help
  22. spell — a short time
  23. march — the month
  24. temple — side of the head

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