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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · tear · capital · season · date · patient

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. rule — a law
  7. capital — a city
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rule — government
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — to rip
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. tear — from crying
  17. season — in sport
  18. capital — money

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