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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bark — to shout
  3. tear — from crying
  4. season — in sport
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. season — of the year
  13. tear — to rip
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. tear — from crying
  16. plane — a tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. plane — an aircraft

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