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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. march — the month
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. march — the month
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. game — a match
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. march — music
  24. leaves — to go away

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