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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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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bark — to shout
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. pop — music
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. field — for sport
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. field — a subject
  16. toast — bread
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. field — farmland
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. pop — soda
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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