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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. cue — a hint
  6. march — the month
  7. bear — the animal
  8. march — music
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bear — the animal
  11. spring — the season
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. cue — a signal
  15. degree — temperature
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spring — of water
  18. cue — for pool
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. degree — from a university
  21. march — the month
  22. hand — in cards
  23. spring — a coil
  24. degree — an amount

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