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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bark — to shout
  10. shower — rain
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. club — for dancing
  20. staff — a stick
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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