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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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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: rush · tube · march · patient · face · mine · snap · trunk

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. march — music
  3. face — to confront
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rush — hurry
  12. mine — for digging
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. march — the month
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. tube — a container
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tube — the underground

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