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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. march — the month
  5. board — to get on
  6. press — a publisher
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. press — to push
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. mate — a partner
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. mate — a friend
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. press — newspapers
  22. mate — to breed
  23. cold — not warm
  24. patient — a sick person

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