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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: pop · wind · bear · march · patient · ruler · cold · club

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — music
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. club — for dancing
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. march — music
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. march — the month
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pop — soda
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bear — the animal
  19. club — a group
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. march — the month
  23. cold — an illness
  24. club — for golf

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