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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. band — a music group
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. clip — to cut
  9. date — the fruit
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bulb — for light
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. march — music
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. clip — a video
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bulb — for light
  22. band — a ring
  23. march — the month
  24. bulb — of a plant

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