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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: land · deal · bear · drill · march · snap · patient · mouse

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. march — the month
  5. bear — the animal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. march — music
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bear — the animal
  15. drill — a practice
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. land — ground
  23. march — the month
  24. drill — army training

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