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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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 — a sick person
  2. last — finally
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — final
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. spring — of water
  7. last — to go on
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. march — the month
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. spring — a coil
  14. foot — a measure
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. spring — the season
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. march — the month
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  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