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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: rule · fork · march · bay · date · ruler · patient · cold

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. date — the fruit
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. march — music
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. march — the month
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rule — to rule out

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