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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: rest · patient · cold · toast · march · content · cue · bore

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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. content — the amount
  4. toast — bread
  5. content — happy
  6. rest — what's left
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cue — a hint
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. march — music
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. rest — a break
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bore — to drill
  21. march — the month
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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