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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rush — hurry
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. drill — army training
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. spring — of water
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. fine — all right
  18. march — the month
  19. fine — high quality
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. march — music
  24. drill — a practice

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