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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mate — to breed
  3. land — ground
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mate — a partner
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. mine — for digging

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