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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: ball · march · mate · cold · jam · patient · bark · bowl

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. cold — an illness
  3. march — the month
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. march — the month
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mate — a partner
  14. march — music
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ball — a dance
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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