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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: patient · hide · face · march · cold · last · pass · calf

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — to confront
  6. march — the month
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. last — finally
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. last — final
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. march — music
  19. pass — a permit
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. last — to go on
  22. march — the month
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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