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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 120 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 · march · patient · sharp · stand · cap · bark · dip

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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. patient — a sick person
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. march — the month
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stand — to bear
  13. march — the month
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rush — a thrill

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