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

Word bank: mug · cell · tear · patient · toast · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. march — the month
  6. toast — bread
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a face
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. tear — to rip
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cell — in biology
  18. march — music

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