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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bark — to shout
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. march — the month
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. capital — money
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. march — the month
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. capital — a city
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. march — music

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