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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · date · pitcher · patient · cold · ruler · track · rule

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. date — the fruit
  3. track — to keep track
  4. game — wild animals
  5. track — a path
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cold — an illness
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. track — a song
  15. game — a match
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cold — not warm
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. rule — government
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rule — a law
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. ruler — for measuring

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