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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: snap · rule · mine · calf · march · patient · bulb · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. march — the month
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. snap — to click
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rule — government
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mine — for digging
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. rule — a law
  24. bulb — of a plant

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