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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bore · last · patient · march · scale · temple · cold · capital

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — not warm
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. cold — an illness
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. scale — in music
  15. bore — to tire
  16. capital — money
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. last — final
  19. march — music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. capital — a city
  23. bore — to drill
  24. scale — size or range

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