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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. rule — government
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. season — of the year
  9. march — the month
  10. can — a tin
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. rule — a law
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. kid — to tease
  18. march — the month
  19. season — in sport
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. fork — in a road
  23. can — a tin
  24. march — music

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