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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: date · track · cold · present · patient · saw · mate · mug

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mate — to breed
  5. saw — the tool
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. present — the time now
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. track — a song
  12. mate — a friend
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. mug — to rob
  15. date — the fruit
  16. present — a gift
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. cold — an illness
  20. present — there
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mate — a partner
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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