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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pit — in a race
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cell — in biology
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. pit — a hole
  24. wind — moving air

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