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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 116 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: patient · pop · drill · hand · firm · present · leaves · march

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. firm — a company
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. present — the time now
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. firm — decided
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. drill — the tool
  12. hand — help
  13. present — a gift
  14. firm — steady
  15. drill — army training
  16. hand — in cards
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — to visit
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pop — music
  22. drill — a practice
  23. march — the month
  24. leaves — of a tree

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