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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. march — music
  3. prune — to trim
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. last — to go on
  6. press — to push
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. press — a publisher
  9. last — final
  10. rush — hurry
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a city
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. press — newspapers
  17. capital — money
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. last — finally
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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