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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 120 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: march · kid · patient · tear · board · lean

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. kid — to tease
  4. march — the month
  5. kid — child
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — music
  12. board — to get on
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. board — a committee
  15. tear — from crying
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. tear — to rip

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