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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: march · fork · cold · temple · patient · ruler

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cold — not warm
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. march — music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. march — the month
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. temple — a place of worship

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