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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 · drill · march · pound · key · tear · mate · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. drill — a practice
  4. march — the month
  5. mate — a friend
  6. key — for a lock
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tear — to rip
  11. march — music
  12. key — in music
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. key — the most important part
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. march — the month
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mate — to breed
  20. staff — employees
  21. pound — a weight
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. mate — a partner

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