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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 120 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: patient · land · track · last · suit · rock · cold · ground

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. track — to keep track
  3. land — a country
  4. track — a path
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. last — final
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. suit — clothes
  11. rock — a stone
  12. suit — to fit
  13. land — to come down
  14. last — to go on
  15. ground — a position
  16. track — a song
  17. land — ground
  18. suit — in cards
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. last — finally
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ground — crushed
  24. rock — music

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