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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. key — for a lock
  5. shower — to wash
  6. key — the most important part
  7. cap — a hat
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. clip — a video
  10. shower — rain
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cap — a lid
  15. key — in music
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cap — of ice
  19. stock — goods
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stock — shares
  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