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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: last · date · patient · march · racket · bear · hand · scale

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. hand — in cards
  3. last — finally
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. march — the month
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. march — music
  12. last — final
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bear — the animal
  18. scale — in music
  19. date — the fruit
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. march — the month
  22. hand — help
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bear — the animal

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