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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: cold · leaves · bound · row · march · date · patient · fall

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bound — tied together
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — an illness
  5. row — a line
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fall — the season
  8. march — the month
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bound — obliged
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. fall — to drop
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. march — music
  24. bound — certain

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