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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. spell — letters
  11. cap — of ice
  12. mine — for digging
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. spell — magic

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