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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 · scale · bore · pop · sharp · land · track · march

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. march — the month
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. march — the month
  6. pop — music
  7. track — to keep track
  8. land — a country
  9. track — a song
  10. scale — size or range
  11. land — ground
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. bore — to drill
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. track — a path
  20. land — to come down
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. scale — in music
  23. march — music
  24. sharp — clever

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