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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: content · date · pound · patient · rule · jam · cold · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rule — a law
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. rule — government
  12. capital — money
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. content — happy
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. cold — an illness
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cold — not warm
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. capital — a city
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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