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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chair — a leader
  3. last — finally
  4. content — happy
  5. cap — a hat
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mate — a partner
  8. scale — in music
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. march — the month
  11. last — final
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mate — a friend
  14. march — music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mate — to breed
  17. march — the month
  18. cap — a lid
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. last — to go on
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. content — the amount
  24. chair — to sit on

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