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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: race · season · kid · cabinet · march · file · date · patient

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. race — the arms race
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. file — a document
  7. season — in sport
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. date — the fruit
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. march — music
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. season — of the year
  17. race — a contest
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. race — humankind
  21. march — the month
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. march — the month
  24. date — on the calendar

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