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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: patient · bass · fork · prune · chair · firm · march · drill

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. firm — a company
  3. chair — a leader
  4. march — the month
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. firm — steady
  7. drill — a practice
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. march — the month
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bass — low music
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. march — music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. firm — decided
  17. drill — army training
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bass — the fish

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