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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: drill · mark · cap · patient · court · march · ruler · content

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. content — the amount
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a grade
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. court — of law
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. march — music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. content — happy
  15. mark — a trace
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. drill — the tool
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. cap — a hat
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — a practice
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. court — of a king
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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